


Harry Potter - The forgotten past

by Mhaelkun



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dolores Umbridge is Her Own Warning, F/M, Harry is Lord Potter, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Slytherin Harry Potter, Voldemort is sane just evil, Wizengamot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-11-15 00:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 49,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18062717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhaelkun/pseuds/Mhaelkun
Summary: Begins at the end of 4year.AU 5th year and then completely AU.Strong Harry, but not godlike. He will need to depend on others, but him being Voldemort's equal is not just a metaphor at the end.Stunted emotionally and insecure Harry / Blaise acting like an anchorI try to describe a coherent version of 'Dark Wizards' who are not inherently evil. Like in most conflicts, PoV and good and evil are quite subjective.I also try to develop the world, the political landscape, and the 'old religion' we can find so much in fanfictions.





	1. Back to Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone.  
> This is my first work and and I'm not a native English speaking so I hope it will still be decent. I'm trying to be original but there will definitively be some cliches. Mostly I'm trying to write a fanfiction I know I would enjoy and hopefully you too !

"Soooo... When can you get out ?" Ron looked at him with interest.  
I paused a bit, unsure of what to say. Pomfrey  **did**  allow him to leave and usually he would jump at the occasion, but attending the feast right now felt like a chore more than anything.

"Hmm, probably tomorrow, I mean, she can't keep me for the holidays right? You should just go, I will be fine."  
_And eating alone in the kitchen will be way more enjoyable I'm sure._

"Sure, see you tomorrow Harry ! You coming Hermione ?"  
"You can go first I want to talk to Harry about something before leaving, keep me some food!" Ron seemed curious at first but his stomach won in the end and he left quickly. But Hermione was still watching him like a hawk

"Care to explain why you judged necessary to lie Harry? I talked to Madam Pomfrey ten minutes ago and she told me you were allowed to go."  
_Hu-ho. This definitively wasn't planned._  After a moment he decided to tell the truth.

"I just don't want to show myself in front of everyone. I've heard the rumors..." He sighed. "They all think I'm crazy, and i can't blame them, it's a bit unbelievable. They all think he's dead after all. I should never have told that he was back in front of everyone but i wasn't thinking straight. And that's only for those who don't think i just murdered Cedric so i could win. You add to this the very vocal  _ **support**_ of Fudge that this is impossible even after he just ordered the kiss on Crouch Jr who  ** _was_**  supposed to be dead and well, I prefer to stay low. And I still can feel the effects of the cruciatus and will probably feel it for quite a bit of time if what Pomfrey said is true. And.."

"And this is the end of the year." She finished. And ' _You will be back there_ ' was left unsaid but Harry knew she was perfectly aware of it. "Harry... is it really so bad there ? I know you don't like to talk about it but surely if it was enough the teachers.."  
"Hermione." My voice sounded a bit colder than I intended. "Look, I'm the smallest of the year, girls included while my Dad was apparently slightly taller than average and my mother was quite tall. I'm also the thinnest. When i was ten and the school doc thought i broke my arm, she wrote to  **them**  asking if I was sick because my weight was dangerously  **low**. They answered that I was just a capricious brat who just wanted to eat sweets. The summer after our first year, the twins and Ron found me in my room with bars on the window and the door locked. You are a smart girl Hermione I'm sure you can figure it out." And then I left her, speechless, until I found myself in front of the kitchen entrance. I'm greeted for the first time by an army of house-elves completely focused on their tasks. It's quite fascinating how they employ their magic compared to us. Since I've seen Dobby defend me against Malfoy Sr, I've often wondered why they are so underestimated. They don't need wands and they can become crazy when the people they serve or respect are threatened.  
_Wizards are probably too arrogant to accept that they could be useful._ I decided.

* * *

The next morning, we found a compartment, and we were soon joined by Neville and Ginny. Like always I didn't really was in the mood to talk and they left me to my thoughts.  
Which were quite diverse. I found myself ranting in my head, not understanding why I'm still going back there when He is back. Isn't it dangerous? Why is He so obsessed with me? I once again asked Dumbledore and I got the usual ' _you're too young blah blah blah_ ' and it annoys me to no end. That's one thing I remarked too. I feel angry a lot more since that day. I know I'm impulsive but still... sometimes it feels too much. Weird. Another thing that I find quite important is that I don't know anything about the war that my parents fought in. Binns is really damn useless. And I should stop thinking about this because I feels myself becoming angry. Again.

"What's wrong Harry? You just keep sighing since we left." Hermione asks. I frown. She is too damn observant sometimes.

"I was ranting about how our history class is awful." They all look at me like I was a stranger. "It' true! I mean, I don't know anything about the war against Voldemort, except the part about blood purity. But it seems not enough for me to declare a war. A psychopath that would target them, even a small group I can see, but a full war ? It doesn't seem right."

Hermione looked pensive and I can see her thinking too that something is missing. Neville is looking at me with indecision on his face and after a moment he opened his mouth to talk but Ron interrupted him.

"Why? You-Know-Who was crazy, everyone know that. He probably did this just to have an excuse to kill as much as he wanted!" Well, I'm definitely not convinced. Yes Voldemort is a fucking psycho but from what I've seen, he feels like a man with convictions. It means he has a goal. I see Hermione looking doubtful too. I know she thinks the same. And Neville in the end didn't say anything. I felt the frustration coming back and I decided I needed a distraction. I wanted to visit a certain pair of twins anyway..

* * *

"Hey guys" I announced myself.  
"Hello Harry!" They replied together. They are looking at me with worried eyes. That's what I like about them. It's always pranking, not bullying except if you deserve it. And they know when to get serious.  
"You are still decided with that joke shop plan of yours? If you are I may have something to help you." I can feel their interest spiking.  
"We are listening!"  
"Well, I can do two things for you. First is this." And I took out of my pocket a shrunk bag of gold. "This is what I won with the tournament. A thousand galleons I think? I don't know how much you need but it's probably enough to get started. If you need more I suppose I could invest a bit but I don't know how much I actually have in my vault..what?"

They were gaping at me.  _Ooh that's not often you can surprise them like this._  
"Harry, that's A LOT of gold. You don't know the currency between a Galleon and a pound do you?" Georges said softly. Fred is still shocked and doesn't even look at me.  
"Well.. no, but I know I have a lot more, it's not like I will starve because of it. The second thing I can do for this is to mail Sirius. We told you the story right?" They nodded. "What I probably didn't tell you is his surname. Wanna Guess? Remember that his animagus form is a big black dog. You probably could mail Professor Lupin too. They were friends at school. With my Dad too. Who was a stag animagus by the way. And I supposed with Pettigrew the rat. You see they were quite the pranksters in their youth.."

And I see the light in their eyes. I tried to stay stoic but in the end I can't stop myself from grinning.

"No way!" "You're joking!" After a good laugh, I finally left them discretely while they were still chatting completely surexcited.

* * *

The train finally arrived at destination. I resigned myself to take off my robes and wearing only the rags, still way too large for me, three years after Dudley became too big for them. I saw Hermione looking sadly at me and I quickly left the cabin. I'm definitively not in the mood to be pitied. All I want is leaving or I will snap and I will tell things I will regret later. So I'm just walking towards the passage and with a quick goodbye, I walked through and started looking for my uncle.

* * *

The travel was.. uncomfortable to say the least. Vernon seemed already angry when I arrived. And I'm tired because I can't sleep properly since Pomfrey stopped giving me dreamless potions. In the end I fell asleep listening to Vernon ranting about his work. At least it explained why he was so angry.

* * *

"Boy!" I woke up instantly, my heart beating like crazy.

 _Joy. Can't even take a nap without seeing Cedric getting killed._  And Vernon was still looking like he wanted to explode at someone. With my luck that someone will be me.

"Take your stuff and put it in your room! Hurry up, and then start dinner!" I started pulling my trunk and my arms screamed at me. I remembered Pomfrey telling me to go easy for two more weeks and I laughed a bit. If it was that easy. I then started preparing dinner and of course Petunia chose something boring to cook. And time-consuming too. Exactly what I needed.

* * *

Well, I did it. I knew it would happen. That damn pan was way too heavy for me right now and I ruined the dinner. And before I could salvage the situation Dudley sadly heard me.

"MOM! The freak wasted the dinner!" And I can see his eyes gleaming. He knew what was coming. Petunia opened the door and screeched. I pinched my lips and forced myself not to say anything bad.

"Sorry, I'm injured, I only got out of the hospital yesterday and my doctor said I shouldn't carry anything heavy for at least two weeks.."  
"Oh?" Vernon's voice. I looked at him and I winced internally. That was soooo not the thing to say. He looked so angry I could see the vein on his head and for a moment I wondered if he was gonna have an attack. And then he punched me. I definitively didn't see that one coming. I felt myself being carried out of the kitchen, still trying to understand what was going on.

"Tell me boy, what good are you if you can't do a thing? You think I'm gonna feed you while you will keep being the lazy freak you are? I don't think so!" I see him undo his belt and I vaguely realize I will need to dodge but Dudley take me by surprise and kick me. I hear a familiar cracking sound while losing my breath. I don't know if something broke or not but my ribs hurt so much I think for a moment I'm gonna die. And then I see Vernon swinging his belt at my face, just before I feel another kick and the last thing I heard was Petunia screaming at her husband :

"Vernon! Not his face!


	2. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :)
> 
> Well, I wanted something drastic to happen to begin shaking things up. But wasn't feeling up to write the scene in itself, I think this is a good compromise to see it from a different PoV.

The next days passed like a blur, I don't remember much. First, everything hurt and I could barely move. Second, I remember hearing the locks on my door, so I didn't even try to get out of the room. Third.. not only my body felt broken, but my left eye refused to open. But I was to exhausted to panic. I sensed a bottle of water near my hand and I lost consciousness again.  
The next time I woke up, I barely managed to open the damn bottle. But I was so thirsty, and if anything, I'm too damn stubborn to give up when I want something. Hearing the little crack from the plug, meant I could drink a bit, but pain assaulted me like predator. My throat burns so much I can't help to wonder if that psycho tried to strangle me when I was unconscious.

I hear Hedwig hooting, worriedly at me. Luckily, I still have some food for her. She won't starve this time. Then I fall asleep once again.

* * *

Alastor Moody was a perplexed man. And that was something that did not happen often. In the last month, he had only been on guard duty for the Potter boy three times. All the others repeatedly said they never saw him, not even once. Albus said the boy was alright, and still in the house. But still, he had checked every single time. The first two times, the boy simply slept through all day. Unusual, but not abnormal for a teen, especially considering the other one on the house seemed to sleep on a weird schedule too.  
_Maybe a muggle thing._  He mused at the time.  
But today had been different. His shift began a bit earlier than usual because Arthur had to begin work right after lunch. He took his place on his usual spot and directed his magical eye on the boy's room. This time the kid wasn't alone, his muggle aunt was sitting on his bed with.. a plate of food it seemed. Then once the kid finished the little food she brought, she left, closing the door and... locking it with an impressive number of locks. Definitely weird. Then the kid got up with apparent difficulty, gave some treats to his owl and... got back to bed. Or more like he fell on his bed, to not move for the next three hours.

And so here he was, perplexed. His sixth paranoid sense was screaming at him that something was wrong. He heard a loud crack while still wondering if he should enter the house. Mondungus then.

"Code?" He asked. After seeing the sign, he apparated straight to Grimmauld Place, looking for someone who knew Potter better than him.  
_Maybe I should go directly to the kids.._ He thought. But Molly somehow had managed to learn he was in the house.

"Alastor! You're early! Is everything alright?" She asked with concern.  
"That's the thing, I don't know." He grumpily admitted. "I don't know who to ask either. Albus says everything is fine but something feels off with the kid. Tell me, is he sick or something?"  
"The kid? You mean Harry?" He nodded. She frowned, beginning to worry.  
"No, the children told me he had to go easy for the first weeks of the summer because of.. well  _the cruciatus_. But nothing that would qualify as sickness. Why do you ask?"  
"Hmpf, I will talk about it in the meeting. I suppose he didn't mail anyone? For what I've seen his owl is as locked up as he is. I don't understand why Albus insists we let the lad alone like that. Probably going insane at this rate. I know I would."  
"I'm sure Albus has his reasons Alastor, for all we know it could be a request from Harry."

An hour later, all members were slowly assembling when Albus Dumbledore stepped through the floo.

"Hello my friends, I see Arthur isn't present, I hope nothing happened?"  
"No, he just was retarded at work. Apparently, they had a lot to deal with today." Molly answered.

"Very well. Alastor, you were of guard duty before the meeting, I trust young Harry is well?" He asked.

Alastor looked at him shrewdly. He remarked that Albus looked barely interested in his answer. This time, he decided to follow his instincts. He couldn't just dismiss his doubts, not when a child could potentially be in danger.

"I actually don't think so." Everyone quickly looked at him. He could even swear he saw for a second a bit of irritation in the eyes of Dumbledore.  
_Hey, so he really doesn't care. Interesting. Why...?_

"I was talking about it with Molly when I arrived. No one saw him since he came back from school. So the few times it was my turn, I checked on him with my eye. First two times, he was sleeping. Even if it was the afternoon I dismissed it, could be because of the holidays, I thought."

A snort interrupted him. "Lazy brat. I bet he spends his days doing nothing. And then he comes back in September, lying about not having the time to finish his homework." Alastor eyed him critically.

"Aye Snape. I wonder how you would do your work if you were locked in your room, without your school things, and being bedridden to the point that you need to be fed by someone else." The looks of horror on everyone's face felt damn satisfying. He even saw real worry In Albus's eyes, and that in itself showed how he made the right choice by talking. Even Snape looked slightly taken aback.

"Alastor, surely they must have a reason for acting this way.. Harry probably got punished and.."  
"And so they forbid him to breathe fresh air for a month? How do you explain that he has to be fed? Act on it Albus or I will. And I will take Black with me. And right now he looks ready to kill so you better have explanations soon." He finished with a little grin. He then looked at Black who was obviously silenced.  
_That explains why nobody heard him scream yet._  He thought.

"Very well." Albus conceded, unhappy. "Today, we need to work on a schedule for the week to come for the DoM entrance. Please pass the planning to everyone and we will make copies when it's completed. Now... I'm still looking for a tea.." He was stopped when a patronus appeared in the room and started talking.

"Albus, I think something is wrong with Harry. His Owl found me and she is frantic. From what I understand she seems to say Harry is in danger." The voice of Arthur Weasley was awfully serious and Remus quickly added to this.

"Hedwig is extremely smart. If she didn't have a letter, it's possible she acted by herself. We must take this warning seriously, Albus!"

They were, once again interrupted, this time by a flaming phoenix, holding a piece of parchment. Alastor tried to see what was written on it, but Albus burned it too quickly. He then looked at the order members gravely.

"Harry used magic a few minutes ago. I do not have the detail, which means it didn't came from his wand."  
_So it is accidental magic. Could he had a fight with his family?_

"However, the wards are still intact, I'm afraid Harry probably had another row with his relatives. I only hope this time obliviators won't be needed. In the actual situation it may causes problems.." He stated pensively.

"That's all?! You should already have left! Have you forgotten Hedwig?!" Black had removed the silencing charm and looked determined. "That's it, I'm going, I've a very bad feeling about this!"

Albus heavily sighed and finally took his decisions. "Calm down Sirius, I will be going immediately. Kingsley, Nymphadora, please come with me." And he swiftly departed the room followed by a scowling Tonks who opted not to say anything this time. Alastor prepared to follow him but warned them before leaving.

"Someone should ask Poppy to be ready just in case. I fear she may be needed in a short time. And Lupin, you make sure the dog stay leashed." Looking at Black. "Stun him if you must, I don't think the Potter boy will be happy to find his godfather kissed when he finally get contact with someone after a month in the dark." And with a loud crack he left them with a feeling of dread.

* * *

When he entered the house, Alastor could clearly feel the weigh of magic tinkling against his skin. Something definitely happened here, and not something good. He heard a woman crying quietly, looking in a state of shock. A metallic sound from the first floor pulled him out of his thoughts and he climbed quickly the stairs to arrive just when Albus opened the door. And what a terrible sight it was.

The room was destroyed by what seemed like an wave of energy. The uncle laid unconscious against the wall, no apparent injuries but he was bleeding from the nose. It could be nothing just like he could be dying. But comparing to the boy... The most obvious was his back. Or what was left of it. That psycho whale, obviously was whipping him, the bloody belt on the floor was proof of it. The kid still had a shirt on him when the torture session had begun and it was now half gone, half red. looking at him more closely, bruises could be seen too on his arms and his neck -did he try to choke him?- and his ankle seemed broken..

Overall, he was a mess.

"Sweet Merlin, Tonks, check on the uncle I will start with Harry!" Kingsley took command, and started basics diagnostic charms. Alastor quickly took the belt before someone might - involuntary of course - make it disappear. The more he thought about it, the more Albus seemed to have an unhealthy interest in the boy, caution would not hurt and damn him if the boy would go back here after such a display!

"Vernon needs medical attention but he will survive. His skull is fractured, probably by the shock against the wall, and he is bruised but nothing too bad. I will portkey him to St Mungo's." She informed her companions, and proceeded. Kingsley however looked worried and perplexed.

"Kingsley?" he inquired.  
"It's..bad. To be honest I don't even understand how he is still alive."

Albus paled while Alastor heavily frowned.  
_That bad?_

"With the obvious lacerations on his back, his arms are injured, notably the right one, broken in two places, his right ankle is also broken. Now more importantly, he has three broken ribs, and one broken twice... but it seems the first fracture wasn't done today. He also has a bleeding lung, I'd say one of the ribs is the cause. I can't even tell what's wrong with his eye. And he is magically exhausted, so all that mess is definitively coming from him. Now, all of this in itself would be bad but not enough to be lethal if treated quickly. But.." He then looked at the older man with a hint of anger. "He has not eaten in days, or so few it's not noticeable. How could you tell he is fine for so long while that happened Albus?! We can't even risk a portkey right now, I'm not sure he could survive it."

For once, his old friend seemed to be at loss. It was clearly not in his calculations that something like that could happen.

"Maybe transport him with Fawkes? The few times I traveled with him it seemed quite easier that portkey or apparition. Albus?" Calling him allowed him to focus once again, and he seemed to regain control of his emotions.  
"Yes, that is a good idea my friend. Fawkes !" The bird appeared instantly. "I need you to take Harry to St Mungo's, as you can see he is heavily injured."  
_Ah, maybe not all of his emotions if he is ready to make this fiasco public._  He mused shaking his head.

"Wait, take it to headquarters, I asked the others to warn Poppy before leaving. I assume you will want to avoid making this a public matter. And I'm sure the lad will appreciate. Besides, Fudge could probably turn this against us in a way or another."

Albus shot him a look of gratitude, before nodding to Fawkes, who departed with Kingsley and the kid. Without warning, Alastor climbed down the stairs, determined to interrogate the aunt to know what prompted such a beating. She was still crying but seemed to have regained control, seeing as she eyed him with disgust.

"Petunia Dursley? I think you owe us a few explanations." He asked, a bit more rashly than he intended but at least it seemed to impress the damn woman.  
"Now, come on Alastor, you can see she is distressed, perhaps we could let her recover and ask her again in a few days..?"  
"Shut up, Albus, I'm doing my job right now!" His pupil looked at him, shocked that he talked with such a cold tone. He would need to explain her later, Tonks had a unprofessional loyalty to his old friend and that could render her judgment biased. "Now, answer me, woman!"

She shrank visibly on the couch but in the end she answered with a resigned air on her face. "Vernon has been... irritable lately. He was afraid to lose his job and.. like always when something doesn't go his way, Vernon always blames the boy. He was becoming violent this year, he nearly hit Dudley for the first time! And when the boy let dinner fall the day he arrived, Vernon.. he snapped! He never used a belt before, and he was always cautious, not to hit his face.."  
_Ah, so there was violence before. Just well hidden. And probably never this bad._

"After he was done, the boy was unconscious. Vernon had Dudley take him on his bed and then he locked him inside. I was worried, I never wanted the boy but I didn't want him to die so I sneaked out that night and I brought him a bottle of water. After that I tried to bring him food when Vernon wasn't there, but it was hard and the boy couldn't eat at all at first and then not even by himself!"

"But he never hit him again before today?" Nymphadora asked, interrupting her.  
"No, he acted like he was gone. But today.. Vernon lost his job." She wasn't even looking at them. He could understand, even if the lad survived, they would be in deep shit.

"Where are his things? I did not see his wand, nor his school clothes and books in the room upstairs." For a moment she looked anxious, then resigned. Alastor saw Nymphadora eyeing her suspiciously.

"They are in his cupboard, under the stairs." Hearing this, this time it was Albus who looked panicked for a brief moment. He decided to push things a bit. He made eye contact with Nymphadora and he nodded. She promptly went to open it while he observed Albus.

"Alastor? You should come to see this." She had taken out a trunk but inside the cupboard were.. other things. A little mattress, and on the door you could still read 'Harry's room' faintly. He didn't think he could get more sick before this discussion, but he was clearly wrong.

"Dursley! How long did he slept in there?!" She visibly pinched her lips. Albus had a weird look, between worried and satisfied. He waited but, she intended not to answer this. He slowly took out his wand and pointed it at her. She paled and answered before he or Albus could say anything.

"Until he got that damn letter for your school of freaks!" He smirked, satisfied now that he had his answers, grabbed the trunk after checking if the wand was inside, and disapparead without a word.


	3. Awakening

The first thing he realized was that he was in a world of pain. He didn't even try to move, all he did was groan a bit and calm himself because he could feel the panic rise.

"Hey, relax kiddo, you're safe now, but your body still needs time to heal." He jerked by instinct and the pain came back violently, then he realized who talked to him.

"Sirius?" His voice was raspy but that was audible enough.

"Sorry, I expected a reaction but I didn't know how to reassure you and I think touching you after what happened..."

_Yes, not touching me was probably a good idea if he didn't want an hysteric teen on his hands._

"Can you open your eye?" Harry stopped breathing instantly.  
_My eye? Without plural..?_  
He moved his hand slowly and touched cautiously what appeared to be a big bandage all wrapped around his left eye. He then gathered his courage and opened his other eye. The room, to his relief, was relatively dark, the sun being blocked by heavy curtains.

Sirius continued, still with that soft voice filled with concerns. "Poppy thinks your other eye is fine, but she covered it to be sure. She said it wasn't injured recently, and that your magic probably saved it. But sadly she couldn't do anything about the scar." He admitted.

"The scar?"

"Yes, you have a little line vertically, which starts on your cheek, and end a bit above your eyebrow. I think it was very close because you can still see a faint mark on your eyelid too." Harry looked at Sirius and he could see the pain in his eyes.

"Sirius... You can't blame yourself for this. Let's be positive, at least I look like a pirate! And with my glasses I'm sure it won't be visible, alright?"

"Harry, you don't understand.. if I had insisted more, Albus would have brought you here sooner and you wouldn't.."

"Sirius"! He stopped him. Anger started to rise, like an old friend now. "Stop it, I do blame someone for this, but that's definitely not you! Besides, this" while pointing at his left eye "happened the first day I got back from school. Not much you could have done don't you think? No, that's Dumbledore's fault and no one else. Well, and Vernon's too but that's obvious." he spat. Sirius looked surprised.

"Why Albus? There's no way he could have anticipated this." Harry tried to calm himself but he was approaching his breaking point and he knew it.

"Because he knows how they treat me. I've told him at the end of my first year. And I tried again at the end of my second year. And I'm pretty sure the Weasleys told him I was literally trapped the summer between my first and second year. And my fucking first letter came with "The cupboard under the stairs" as the address!"

_Damn, shooting feels good. Too bad the old man wasn't there too._  He then looked again at Sirius who had murder in his eyes. Wanting to soothe him, he quickly added "Don't worry, only two more summers and I will be rid of them. I know you can't do anything even if you want it with you being an escaped convict and all, but I'm not surprised Dumbledore didn't do anything. It's probably a chore to deal with families like mine. All my teachers in primary always dismissed it or straight up didn't believe me so I'm used to it." He sighed, resigned. But that didn't seem to appease Sirius. Even if he forced himself to change subject.

"Right. Are you hungry? I can get you something light if you want. I have others things to tell you but it can wait a bit." His stomach answered for him and for the first time Sirius laughed before leaving. He came back five minutes later with a tray of sandwiches and a bottle of butterbeer. He began to eat while Sirius resumed talking again.

"Sooo, basic information for you. You are right now in the ancestral house of the Ancient and Noble house of Black." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Noble?" That was new. Harry wasn't aware nobility still existed in the wizarding world.

"Well, it's mostly a term to refer to the Old lines who were part of the Wizarding's Council. At first they were basically governing us. They made the law, they were responsible for justice, and were duty bound to offer asylum in case families under their territories were in danger, either of the muggles, or for strangers. And if Britain was at war... They fought to protect everyone. In return they collected money from people living on their territory. With time it evolved, and with the creation of the ministry, the Council was renamed to be the Wizengamot. Now, the Wizengamot serves to render justice and to vote laws. There is no paying thing anymore. Nor governing. But my family thought that made them Royals. I'm surprised you don't know this, from what I heard there are quite a number of heirs in your year." He finished pensively.

"Heirs?" Harry frowned. "And what's the deal with the ancient thing?" Now Sirius looked completely surprised.

"Harry, I can understand why you don't know the details of the Wizengamot considering you have been raised by muggles but you SHOULD know about heirships. Didn't you get a ring when you visited Gringotts the first time? The manager of the Potter family should have told you about it. It's in the treaty between the Wizengamot and Gringotts, if they somehow kept this information.."

"Woah Sirius calm down, when Hagrid took me I just gave my key to the first goblin I saw and he took me to my vault and we left, I actually never came back again by myself I think. I always gave my key to Mrs Weasley when I needed money. I don't even have it in my trunk with me. So, no I don't have a ring."

Sirius looked abashed, before he looked at the door. "I see that you will have to learn everything from the beginning. Listen, we will talk again about the House stuff later alright? I just felt Poppy arriving through the wards and she will want to check on you. Then we have others matters to discuss alright?" Harry merely nodded, a bit overloaded with information. "Harry, if Albus ever come to your room and I'm not here, don't speak about it, with me gone it should have been his responsibility to teach you this. If he didn't ... well he has a reason for sure but I'm not sure it's in your best interest." He finished grimly. He then left the room and a very disturbed Harry alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Sirius came back ten minutes later followed by a surprised Poppy Pomfrey.

"You could have told me he was awake!" She exclaimed.  
"Shhh, don't make me silence you, I don't want the others to know. He only woke up an hour ago, I didn't want to overload him. And I had to discuss things with him first. We are still not finished and..." He looked at Harry with indecision. "I think there's probably more than I anticipated he needs to know."

"Very well. Hello Mr Potter, it's nice to see you getting better. Now that you are awake I can finally look at that eye of yours. Do you know what caused the injury or were you unconscious at the time?"

He pinched his lips, reluctant to tell but yielded under the stern glare of the matron. "The buckle of my uncle's belt. He slashed it and I wasn't ready to dodge." He sighed heavily. "To be honest even if I was ready, there's no way I could have dodged this, I was already weakened when I came back from Hogwarts and my cousin just kicked me, I was just out of breath and trying to understand what was going on."

She stared at him blankly and finally declared. "At least you don't give me your typical 'I'm fine'. I just deplore it needs you nearly dying for that." Sirius tried to restrain a laugh but failed miserably.  
"That's not funny!" Harry threw his pillow at Sirius's face and returned his attention to Poppy. "Right, so, am I blind or not?"

She switched her wand and the bandage started undoing itself. "We will see that in an instant. Like I told Mr Black, I wasn't able to reduce the scar, too much time had passed between the injury and the moment you came here. About a month I guess?" He nodded. "I didn't do anything to your eye, I think it was either intact, or already healed by your magic. that certainly would explain why one of your ribs was still healing from a fracture when it broke again four days ago. Your magic probably focused on the more important part, I think you would agree." The bandage fell on the bed and she kept going. "Now, when you will open your eye, it will hurt a bit. You will be extremely sensitive to light, since you were unable to open it for so long, and even more if your eye was indeed damaged. Don't panic. Are you ready? Go on."

Harry took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly. Like she warned him, his left eye began to hurt, or more exactly, burn a little. He informed her and she looked at him like it was normal. So he persevered. While he tried to get accustomed to see again with both of his eyes, Poppy checked on the rest of his body. The pain had decreased since he woke up but he was still sore, mostly on his rib cage.

"You look fine to me Mr Potter. Your ankle is perfectly healed and so are your arms. You will probably be sore for some days. Are you breathing fine?"

The question surprised him. "Yes, why?"

"One of your ribs pierced a lung. You were nearly drowned with your own blood when I began healing you." That startled him. "Was I that bad? I mean it's not the first time he left me injured, I always healed fine."

She pinched her lips, disapprovingly. This confirmed a lot of suspicions she had since she saw the boy for the first time. And Albus always said he was fine! "Mr Potter, if you had not been taken to a healer, you would have died within the hour. Now take off your shirt and sit on the bed. I can't do a thing for your face but luckily I have a very good potions master on hand and I will set your back right."

His back, right. He had forgotten about that. He slowly moved and took off his shirt and sat to the side of his bed grimacing. He felt worse than after the worst quidditch training he had with Wood! But suddenly a warm feeling started spreading on his back and he instantly relaxed.

"Wow, that feels good. I think that's the first time me being injured doesn't result in some disgusting potions or more pain to heal. What is that?"

With a small smile, she answered him. "This potion actually burns quite a bit by itself. But I learned that if one apply a numbing charm before, it feels like you said, pretty good. And you still have a week of treatment, twice a day. However it's the last time I will apply it myself. Now that the rest of your body is healing nicely, you don't need me anymore. No massage from me anymore!" Was she joking with him? that was a first. He decided to go along with it and pouted a bit. "He will need to eat quite a bit to regain a decent weight." She added to Sirius, who nodded.

"Tell me Poppy, did you ever voice concerns about possible..."-He looked quickly at Harry, hesitating about his choice of word.-"abuse?" Harry choose to stay silent. He didn't like to talk about it but he was quite curious about the answer.

"Yes! And more than once. But Albus always swore everything was fine. And Harry never told me anything so I was never sure. Some boys are just clumsy, or naturally have a weak body... considering what happened  **that**  night. Well the consequences were unpredictable, nobody could observe the possible repercussions after surviving the killing curse before. And well, Harry is not the most cautious boy I've met. I didn't know if he played muggle sports but if he is as reckless as he is playing quidditch..." The look she gave him said everything and he could understand her.  
"Well the headmaster knows, I have told him twice that they were terrible people when I asked to stay at Hogwarts for the summer."

She looked sadly at him then determined again. "I see, then the next time I see a child where I have doubts I will directly voice them to the ministry. Maybe they will act accordingly." She paused. "You should sleep now, your body still needs to rest, and you have been given a lot of information. Your mind will need some time off to accept the situation. I left a dozen vials of dreamless sleep to Mr Black, should you need it. But no more than two every five days! Try to enjoy the rest of your holidays. I will see you on September Mr Potter."

She left the room, and he realized that he effectively felt tired. He tried to contain a yawn but failed miserably. The both of them laughed at that. "Sleep Harry, we will talk again tomorrow. You have a bathroom on the right door if you need it, but please don't leave the room yet. I really want to finish our discussion first, alright?" that pleaded look showed how important it seemed to be for him so he nodded and yawned again to fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

When he woke up, Harry felt a lot better and he tried to appreciate what was the first good night he had since the third task. A sweet warmth came from is his feet, where he spotted a black dog. He smiled when he realized that Sirius never left the room. Sadly, his bladder decided to interrupt that short moment of peace. Being careful not to wake up his godfather, Harry exited the bed and entered the bathroom. After relieving himself, the shower became increasingly tempting. He was sweaty, and while he felt a lot less pain than yesterday, he was still sore. He settled for a short hot shower.

When he left the bathroom with only a towel on himself, he found breakfast and a Sirius with a little amused smile.

"No clothes hey? You're lucky I stopped Hermione from checking on you, it would have been awkward. On another side, you look alright for someone who nearly starved for a month, these nutrients potions are quite effective."

Harry looked at him with horror. "She's here? And she's already up? The sun's barely visible!" Then he looked at himself. It was true, he was skinny but no more that he usually was. "By the way, do you know where my glasses are, I feel more naked without them than without my clothes." Sirius switched his wand, Harry caught the spectacles and put them on his nose.

"Don't worry about Hermione, I told her the breakfast was for me and that you were still sleeping but that Pomfrey checked on you yesterday. Here, I found some old clothes who belonged to my brother, I can resize them once you put them on. Now, about Hermione, I think she's getting anxious about your reaction. She and Ron feel quite bad because they promised not to send you any letter. Supposedly, it was dangerous because owls can be tracked, blah blah blah." he rolled his eyes, clearly showing how he disagreed with all of this.

"So that's why I didn't receive any letter. And here I was, wondering if something happened to all of them, while I was stuck in bed." Panic filled the eyes of Sirius. "Wait! You didn't receive anything?!" Harry shook his head. "With Fred and George we tried to send a letter every week via muggle post. Technically we also promised to Dumbledore but his exact terms were to 'not send him any owl' so we didn't lie!" He grimaced a bit. "I hope we didn't mess up your address. But now that I think about your situation, it's also possible that your relatives did receive them but never gave them to you. I'm sorry I couldn't do more Harry, I.."

"Sirius stop! I... Just knowing that you tried is enough. Thank you." He sat next to his godfather and took his hand, showing he was grateful. "And my  _dear_  friends will wait quite a bit before I accept to speak to them like before. They know how important it is to me to have contact in the summer." He was bitter and he wanted to show them!

"Right!" Sirius's voice was still a bit raspy from the emotions, but he forced himself to sound more cheerful. "Like I said yesterday, we still have things to discuss. First, yesterday I told you you were in the ancestral House of the Black family. Right now, it's housing most of the Weasleys, your friend Hermione, and this is also where we have our Headquarters. I'm talking about the Order of the Phoenix. Do you know what it is?" Harry shook his head. "We are a group of people who oppose Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Albus created it because in the last war, the ministry became so corrupted we couldn't trust anyone. After you witnessed his return, we called back our old friends, and we try to recruit new members. Right now we don't do a lot because Voldemort is laying low, and probably rebuilding his army. Which brings me to the second thing I need to tell you. I assume you didn't get to read any newspaper the past month?"

Harry didn't like where this was going. He always had terrible luck with reporters. He shook his head, getting anxious.

"Well... I'm sorry to say this but they have a great fun slandering you right now. You and Dumbledore. They report you as an attention seeker, and a mentally unstable teenager, who is trying to revive his former glory by claiming Voldemort is back. And Dumbledore is painted as a senile old man, who isn't fit for responsibilities now that he is listening to you. And Fudge is just terrified that Albus is after his job. The problem is that Albus took measures to protect himself but he seemed quite content to let them destroying your reputation." he stated, harshly.

"Glad I'm not the only one not a fan of the old man right now." Harry stated. Sirius nodded, then, resigned, prepared himself for the worst piece of information he had to deliver. He took a deep breath trying to stay calm.

"Well, that's not over. You have a bigger problem, even if it's linked, somehow. When your uncle tried to... you know. Your magic reacted. Do you remember it?" Harry thought about it but couldn't remember anything. "We are sure it was you. Albus has monitoring wards on their house, and they detected magic, but no precise spell. The logical conclusion is accidental magic. Considering the situation and that you were magically exhausted when Kingsley, he is an auror, was checking your health status, and the state of the room... there is no doubt it was you. Now even if you acted consciously, you had the right to do it, it was self defense. The problem is that someone leaked that your uncle was in St Mungo's, injured, and that somehow, it was your fault. And Fudge jumped on the occasion. He is calling for blood, saying to everyone that you are dangerous because you tried to kill him, that maybe you killed the Diggory kid too, and he demanded that you surrender yourself." He sighed. "Alastor thought you would prefer to wake up with familiar people, and brought you here where Poppy healed you. But in the end it might have been a mistake... if you had been treated in St Mungo's, they would know you were in a critical state and you wouldn't be in this situation. A trial is scheduled the next week, whether you present yourself or not, because Fudge refused to believe Albus when he said you were comatose."

He looked pensive for a moment while Harry was still having problems accepting the situation. A trial? And for murder? If he was found guilty he would end up in Azkaban for sure. And he had no idea if him being underage would change anything. He felt panic rise but Sirius started talking again.

"I spent the last few days thinking about a line of defense for you. I also contacted a lawyer, Edward Tonks. Hedwig has been really helpful since I don't have an owl myself. He is the husband of one of my cousins, the only decent one of the bunch I'm afraid. And now that you tell me you don't actually remember using magic, we can use this. Magic acting in defense of its host has happened in the past. We also have the reports from two aurors who were with Albus and Alastor when they found you. There's also the fact that your wand was locked in your trunk, which you had no access to. It's all in the report. Even if Fudge is ignoring it now, he won't be able to in front of the Wizengamot. And obviously Poppy gave a certified health status. They can all be asked to testify when you will present the documents and will be ready for it. A good point for you would also be to... explain how they treated you in general, and how long it has been happening." Sirius looked uncertain saying this, and Harry's gaze certainly wasn't comforting for him."Listen Harry, I understand how hard it is to talk about this. My parents were terrible too, and I still hate talking about it after all these years. And considering it's you, it WILL end in the papers. But surely it's better than being convicted for murder?"

And yes it was. It didn't make it easy to accept and he would probably suffer from it but with a bit of luck in a few months, Voldemort would make a mistake and the papers would make a complete turn-around. He was still deep in thoughts when the door opened, letting a reading Hermione enter. She saw him, and threw herself at him in a big hug. Harry let her do in silence but he didn't move at all.

"Oh Harry I was so worried! They wouldn't tell us how you were, and with all the panic around your trial and how they say you tried to kill your uncle when we know it's not the truth! How dare they, honestly!"

Harry slowly turned his head towards Sirius. "I understand why you wanted to talk to me first. If I'd just woken I probably would have fainted already." Sirius was staring at Hermione, a bit angry.

"Didn't I tell you not to enter this room Hermione? Harry is still recovering, and I doubt he wants to talk to you anyway." Hermione had a confused face and sensed the hostility coming from both Harry and Sirius.

"Yes Hermione, why do you want to talk now? After all you didn't seem to want to give me any news for a whole month. Maybe being here was more interesting?" He knew it would hurt her, and that she felt guilty, but he couldn't help feeling angry. Even if they were probably not included in the order, Ron and Hermione were still there, together, and they would know if something big happened.

"Harry you don't understand, we promised not to...!"

I know what you promised! No owls! It didn't stop Sirius and the twins to send me news without breaking that promise! Please leave Hermione, I'm angry with you and I don't intend to talk to you for now." He stared at her, and reigned his anger the most he could, but if he had a mirror he would bet his eyes were in fire. Hermione looked at him pleadingly but he didn't bulge. She admitted defeat and left the room in tears.

"Well, that was positively slytherin Harry." Sirius exclaimed after putting a locking charm on the door. "Playing on her guilt, and with half truths? I'm surprised!" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Half truths? You did promise, and you did send me news. How is that half truths? Besides, I have to show that slytherin side the hat insisted so much I had!" Sirius was not expecting that. "How are you in Gryffindor then?" A little curious now.

"Well, the hat was saying how great I would be in Slytherin House, and me all I could think was that Malfoy just got sorted there and I wanted everywhere but with him. He remembered me my cousin too much and I didn't want to suffer him for seven years, so the hat admitted I could do well in Gryffindor too, but Slytherin would be best."

"Well that's surprisingly similar to me." Sirius admitted. "All I wanted at the time was to piss off my parents. And Slytherin was even more a recruiting ground for Voldemort than it is probably now. And I just met your father and the train, and here I go, little Black in Gryffindor!" He grinned.

* * *

In the end, Harry finally left his room by dinner. He acted cold towards nearly everyone, the twins being the exception. Hermione looked ready to cry all diner long, and Ron gave a half hearted apology, that Harry completely ignored. Ron lost his temper and his mother sent him to bed before he said something he would regret later.

Harry didn't care, not talking was the only way for him not to explode completely. He still had problems controlling his own anger, and so he quickly retreated to his room. Sirius came back a little while later and they started talking about school. Harry never realized how little Sirius knew about his school years. So he started, beginning with the first year. When he ended his story, Sirius couldn't help but feel helpless. He decided to focus on the positive side.

"So, do you know what career you aim to? You took care of magical creatures right? Something related?"

Harry wondered how he could tell he had only taken his electives by following Ron's advice that they were 'easy'. He actually enjoyed CoMC but was dead tired of the Divination class. But he knew he wouldn't work in this field of work.

"I honestly don't even know what kind of works exists in the magical world. They ask for electives in third year but there's no class to discover for what they are useful! And Divination is crap. Do you know if I can change it? Hermione is always going on about how Runes and Arithmancy are so much fun. But I don't even know if it's important to know or not. Hermione is not really a good indicator she finds EVERYTHING interesting." Harry was becoming frustrated. Sirius saw that and wondered if not knowing the real applications of some subjects was the reason Harry didn't try to learn more.

"Runes are the basics of a lot of things. Warding is almost exclusively based on them. Rituals too. Then you can enchant items thanks to runes too. There is probably others applications, but that's the three more important I think. If you want my opinion runes should be a core subject, it's extremely important." Harry looked horrified. 'He is probably panicking because he didn't took it' Sirius thought.

"I can show you books so you can start learning if you wish, the Black Family have a great library, one of the most extensive in Britain I think. Now arithmancy is less important I think. It has a lot of calculations. Some use it to predict events. It's also used in spell creation, but that's not the only method. If you have a very good grasp on magic you can create spells too."

He was seeing Harry losing attention so he decided to end their little talk.

"Go to sleep Harry, you might not be in pain anymore but you need your rest."

For the next two days, Harry fell into a routine. He spent his days mainly talking with Sirius, working on his homework , and reading beginner books about runes. The more he read about it the more he regretted not taking the subject. He was completely immersed in one of these books when Sirius asked him to come in the kitchen. When Harry arrived, he saw Hedwig, and Sirius was reading a letter. molly Weasley seemed angry and was rambling about owls putting everyone in danger.

"Ted finally answered to me Harry, he is saying with all the elements we have you should be fine. Two more days and you should be cleared. Come I will show you what you will wear." Hearing this, Molly scowled. "Sirius, I already told you his outfit is stored and ready he can't try it now!" Sirius looked exasperated. Harry wondered if there was a conflict between the two.

"And I already told you, what Dumbledore picked is way too muggle! If Harry went in front of the Wizengamot clothed like a muggle a lot of members would feel insulted. Right now Harry needs every bit of respect he can get."

"What's wrong with muggle clothes?!" Hermione interrupted the both of them.

_Oooh, she is offended. That will be painful._  Thought Harry. And Sirius was starting to lose patience.

"Nothing Hermione. Tell me, if I went into the muggle world dressed like a wizard, what would you think?"

"Out of place, obviously!" She had that 'Are you stupid?' look that made her insufferable sometimes.

"Exactly." Sirius answered with the most patience he could gather. "Now, you reverse the situation, how do you think muggles look when they come into our world dressed like in their world?"

"That's different, muggles generally dress with modern clothes. Magical people have no sense of fashion at all!" A heavy silence took place after this declaration. Until Sirius burst out laughing. The Weasleys looked between queasy, annoyed, and straight up angry in the case of Ginny.

"Never say that in front of Andromeda if you want to continue living. Hermione, you are smart, but you still have a lot of prejudice to overcome. There is a reason Lily was so liked, to the point even Voldemort wanted to recruit her, despite the fact that she is a muggleborn. She embraced our culture. It doesn't mean she rejected her origins. She just adapted, learned everything she could, and thought by herself. Right now, you are a very smart person, and you are very bright academically. But you cant think outside of books. And you are too narrow minded to be respected amongst magicals."

Hermione didn't say a word in response. Her jaw was slightly open, and no one dared to contradict Sirius after what she had said earlier.

Sirius left the room, followed by Harry, who was still silent. Once they came back in Harry's room, Sirius took out a black outfit, who seemed like black water. A white shirt, with black buttons, and grey pants.

"Try everything. Don't worry about the size, these clothes costs so much, resizing charms are a given. You will look like a proper heir in this." Harry wouldn't admit it but he was quite excited. Theses clothes were beautiful, and they seemed extremely pleasant to wear. "By the way, Albus asked me if you were aware of your heritage." He paused while Harry finished dressing up. "I told him you were not aware when I asked you." Harry snorted at this.

"And you say I use half truths!" Sirius grinned wildly. "Yeah well, it's better to stay discreet for now. We will discuss more about it once the trial is over. Anyway, you look quite dashing Harry. You just need to act more self confident. I hate to say this, but think about Malfoy Jr, minus the arrogant touch and you have the right attitude. The only thing you don't have are boots, they are still stored. Do you want to show everyone or we keep this a surprise?"

"Surprise of course!"

* * *

The morning of the trial, Harry and Sirius woke up early. They learned the day before that the trial would be public. It was a last minute decision by Fudge, probably in hope to make Harry even more fearful. But Sirius had been harassing Harry, telling him again and again how they had nothing on him and he would be back cleared of all charges.

He had a small breakfast, too anxious to eat normally, and just got out of the shower. The trial was programmed to start at 10AM, but Harry would arrive at the ministry at 8AM. He had to talk with his lawyer, since he never had the possibility and they just had mailed each other until now. He was now completely dressed, but he was wondering what to do with his hair. It was longer that ever. In his fourth year he had decided he wanted to see if growing it would tame it a bit. That was sadly a big failure.

Sirius was deep in thought then suddenly asked. "Do you want to cut it really short? Your father never tried I think, and I know you told me your hair regrew within the night when your aunt shaved it but... she forced you. If you want to have it short, I think your magic will let it happen."

Harry was pretty desperate at this point. "Do you really think it would change anything?"

"If you cut it in a way in can only go one direction... it should do it. To be honest your hair is better than James, his was way worse! We always teased him, asking him if he should shave it completely to solve the problem." He grinned, remembering about the past.

"Alright... do you know how to do it?" Sirius shook his head. "No, but I know Molly is pretty talented. Sadly for her, the boys never let her touch their hair. I'm going to fetch her."

"Are you sure? It's still early, not even 7am.." Sirius laughed at that. "Harry, everyone is anxious, even if we are confident. I bet they all are up! Well, except Ron maybe, this one can sleep through everything."

Five minutes later, Sirius came back, followed by a very, very worried looking Molly Weasley. When she saw Harry, she stared at him, not expecting him to look this good.

"So, still thinking he would be better in the muggle suit?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"I admit, he looks really good. And you gave him lessons to correct his posture didn't you? He looks like a different person! So, what do we do with that hair of yours dear?"

In the end, they decided to shorten it behind and on the sides, nearly shaving it, and only cutting the length on top of his head. Molly thought that keeping it thick and short would allow him to direct it easily. At the end, she looked quite satisfied and Harry was impressed.

They all came down and entered the dining room, and no one seemed to recognize him, until Remus, who probably smelled him more than anything. He smiled gently. "You look quite handsome Harry. And that haircut is a small miracle. It's the first time I see a Potter groomed decently. Molly's work I assume?" Harry acquiesced eagerly. "I see. Well you can relax for a bit, we are leaving in ten minutes. I will apparate you directly in the atrium, Ted will meet us there."

When they arrived, Harry fought to maintain his balance. He then remembered the lessons Sirius taught him and fixed his posture. A lot of people were staring at him, like he was a dangerous madman. He could see the fear in their eyes. As if he could do anything, he was fifteen!

Edward Tonks met them and showed them a private room.

"It's nice to finally meet you Harry. Sirius talked a lot about you. Like I already said, I'm pretty confident we will get you out of this. And the fact that Fudge made it public will play in our favor. He can't ignore official reports when all the press is present. And, your story will help too. We can also ask for veritaserum. Do you know what it is?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. He had heard that name before, but he wasn't sure.

"It's a truth serum I think?"

"Indeed, it's the most powerful one we know. A confession under veritaserum can't be taken as proof, because some people can bend the truth even under the serum, even if they can't outright lie. But using it on a teen who more than likely have no mental defense... it could be a good move for us. Do you consent to take it if I ask for it?" Harry gave his consent, and they began moving towards the courtroom. They were close to their destination when a certain headmaster called for him.

"Harry, my boy, it's good that you came in advance. I can't say I approve of your clothes though. Didn't Molly give you the suit I ordered for you?" Dumbledore was openly frowning.

"Headmaster Dumbledore. My client is perfectly dressed for a trial. I've seen the... suit you are talking about, and I can affirm that it would have been bad received by the members of the Wizengamot. Sirius did a good job correcting your mistake."

Harry would have laughed at the face Dumbledore made if he wasn't so anxious. He looked so surprised, and even more displeased.

"Your client? There must be a mistake, I will be the one representing him. I'm sorry but your services are not necessary." His tone was cold, and he expected the other man to comply so evidently that Harry was surprised Ted didn't lose his calm.

"I am contracted for today. And you are not a lawyer yourself. Besides, my client does not wish to associate with you. Your actual reputation would only harm him in this trial. Please step away and go to your seat, or I will call the aurors to escort you out of the courtroom. Come Harry, we do not want to be late."

They swiftly took their place, and Harry wondered why Ted had talked so loudly to Dumbledore.

"I wanted to be heard Harry. A lot of members are already here, I wanted them to know we are not associating with him. If Fudge hears about a possible tension between the two of you, he will try to use it. He is afraid of Dumbledore. You are just the victim in this. If he sees you taking your distance he may drop the charges easily in hope to get you at his side."

Soon, the trial began.

"The accused is present. Let us begin. Are you ready?" Fudge called his staff. Affirmative answers came back to him.

"Trial hearing of the fifteenth of August, into attempted murder, on a muggle, by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.  
Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the minister.  
Court Scribe : Percy Ignatius Weasley.

Witness for the defense : Lawyer Edward Tonks.

The charges against the accused are as follows :

That he tried to kill the man know as Vernon Dursley, muggle, and his own uncle, in a moment of anger. He used for this a spell similar to bombarda, which propulsed the muggle against the wall, fracturing his skull and injuring him in multiple other places.  
The accused then fled, and refused summons, using the pretext that he was himself injured.

Are you Harry James Potter, residing of number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge asked, glaring at Harry. Harry looked at his lawyer who nodded slightly.

"I am."

"And what the defense pleads for?" asked Fudge.

"Not guilty of all charges, Minister." Edward replied.

Murmurs began to be heard within the members. Harry tried to keep himself looking confident.

"Very well. The accused may present his defense." With this, Fudge allowed the lawyer to begin his act.

"Thank you Minister. I am actually surprised to be here myself. I have seen and read the reports two of your aurors submitted, and they are quite clear on what happened. I quote from the report of Nymphadora Tonks :'the victim, Harry James Potter, was unconscious when we arrived. He was dying, and I heard my colleague, Auror Shacklebolt, saying he didn't even understand how the boy was still alive.' They also reported having found a belt, soaked in the blood of my client."

The more Ted talked, the redder Fudge became. But Ted didn't stop here.

"Both reports ended with the conclusion that Vernon Dursley attacked his nephew, in the intent of killing him. My client doesn't even remember using magic to defend himself. It is likely that his magic acted on its own under the physical threat of Vernon Dursley. And obviously, my client did not 'fled', he was dying at the time! The medical report issued by Madam poppy Pomfrey, called in emergency, states that without medical treatment, Harry James Potter would be dead within the hour.

I have made copies for you all to read of the three reports, and both aurors and the mediwitch are at your disposition if you wish to question them." he bowed a little then sat down. Now you could hear members chatting more loudly, while they read the different reports.

"Mr Tonks, you say your client doesn't remember ... attacking his uncle. How can we be so sure of this? After all he is known for lying without remorse." A little voice suddenly was heard.

"Madam Umbridge, my client is ready to be questioned under veritaserum if you wish it. We know it cannot be claimed as proof. But I doubt a 15 old teenage has the mental defense necessary to influence his answers under the serum. Besides, even if my client was conscious, it was still self defense and perfectly within the law. Or are you accusing your own aurors of lying in their reports?" He quirked an eyebrow, daring her to say yes. A quick glance at the minister and she chose to not reply.

Another woman started talking.

"Mr Potter. In the medical report, Madam Pomfrey states that your eye was damaged beforehand, and one of your ribs was already fractured. Can you explain?"

This was it. It was the moment when he had to tell everyone that he had been abused all this life. He tried to contain the feeling of sickness that rose and he got up of his chair. He took a deep breath. There was no coming back and he had to look strong.

"Madam. I have to cook, among many other chores, every day I spend in that house. When I came back from school, I was asked to cook the diner. However I was still recovering, from the cruciatus spell in particular. Despite what some might say, I DID get hurt by that spell following the third task, at least twice. Madam Pomfrey can attest to that. I managed to knock off the diner. My uncle decided to punish me... He punched me, then pulled me off the kitchen. My cousin then kicked me in the ribs and I didn't see my uncle lashing at me with his belt. It surprised me because he may have hit me in the past but never with a belt. And never in the face either. He always was cautious not to leave any visible mark. I was convinced for a month he had blinded me because when I woke up a few days after, it was inflated. Impossible to open it. I can only theorize that he punched me after I lost consciousness. Just like the broken rib is probably from my cousin kicking me again." He then removed his glasses to let everyone show the scar on his face. "Madam Pomfrey thinks that my magic healed my eye at the expense of the rest of my injuries. That's why when my uncle attempted to kill me a month later my rib was still broken."

He sat, trembling a little. It was done. Everyone would know by tomorrow. At least his voice had stayed firm during all his speech. He felt Ted putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. The atmosphere on the room was completely different now. Most of the members looked sad, or outraged. Dumbledore looked... annoyed. And Ted had a confident face. Was it over?

Fudge spoke again, and even he seemed subdued and looked at Harry with a bit of compassion.

"Very well, does the defense wish to add anything?" Ted looked hesitant for a bit then declined.

"those who are in favour of conviction?" No one got up. So much relief! He was free!

"those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?" Everyone lit their wand.

"Harry James Potter, you are cleared of all charges. You can now walk free."

He smiled warmly to his lawyer. "Thank you Ted! You were great!" And then more discretely. "Why did you hesitate when they ask if you wanted to add something?" Ted had a little smile hearing this.

"So you spotted this huh? I wanted to dissociate you further from Dumbledore by saying you actually never told the public about You-Know-Who, it's all Dumbledore, he announced it at Hogwarts, in the Wizengamot, in the press... It's not right that they attack you too. But I think it wasn't the right time, the press will have a field day with your story, and I know you hate it, but it will put you under good light. Just don't speak about You-Know-Who for now. Not here, not at Hogwarts either. Understand?

* * *

Harry was so elated that he began talking again to Hermione and Ron that night. And despite a meeting order taking place just when Dumbledore returned, they managed to celebrate after quite a bit. It also served as a pseudo birthday party since Harry was unconscious the normal day. Sirius gave him in the privacy of his room a very old book about runes that were not studied at Hogwarts, and were used in the construction of wards. Sirius explained that these type of wards were not used anymore, they had been considered impractical because they took too much time to construct despite them being more powerful once finished. Now the knowledge was lost and only the oldest families had the books to remember them.

He also gave him a communication mirror, that he used with his dad before, so they could communicate all year long.

On the 20th, the letters finally came. Sirius and Harry had planned that they would stay here while the others would shop. Harry only needed the new books and potions ingredients necessary for his class. Indeed since he came back from the trial, He and Sirius had decided to stop the Weasleys to throw everything 'dark' while cleaning. The old elf, Kreacher had noticed it, and while he still couldn't stand Sirius, he had warmed up quite a bit to Harry. Kreacher had then accepted to resize many clothes who belonged to Regulus when he saw what laid in Harry's trunk.

They settled in the couch, with butterbeer. Sirius dreaded that discussion and nearly wanted to drink firewhisky instead.

"So...do you remember when we talked about My family and the Lord thing?" Harry nodded. "Right. So I told you when you visited Gringotts, your family manager should have given you a ring. And I also talked about heirships. Are you following me for now?" Harry nodded again. "I told you my family was 'Ancient and Noble'. This is a status reserved for the original Thirty. They were the thirty families who founded the Wizard's Council back in the ninth or tenth century. It was extended in the thirteenth, and the new families inducted were given the status of 'Noble House'. The Potter are part of the fifty, and had been for the beginning of the extended Council. There is a reason for that, James told me a bit of the story." He paused for a bit, organizing his thoughts.

"There is this Old family, The house of Peverell. They were part of the Thirty, and they were feared. They had that reputation that their magic was linked to death and... well just like the Blacks are feared because we are supposed to be the darkest of Dark Wizards, nobody messed with the Peverells. And the last generation were even more revered, there is even an children's tale about them. There were three brother. Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus. Antioch was the Lord but he died quite young. Cadmus is said to have become crazy when his wife died, and he let himself die, letting her daughter alone. But at the time, no family allowed woman to inherit. Ignotus then became the Lord. He lived a long life. Had a son, and a granddaughter, Iolanthe Peverell. Sadly for Ignotus, he outlived his son, and was left as the last of his line. But he didn't want to allow his line to merge with the family in which Iolanthe would marry. His niece, Cadmus's daughter was courted by a member of a powerful and badly reputed family, who was said to not be adverse to kill entire families to gain what they wanted. He feared that if his niece married, then his daughter and future family would be hunted down to end the line so that they could inherit the Lordship. So, on his last Council session, when he thought himself too old, Ignotus declared the line dormant. Said he had taken precautions with Gringotts and that only someone worthy of his family would gain the ring, and it would not follow the usual inheritance. And he also asked that the Potters, Iolanthe recently married family, to be elevated to the status of Noble family, just like they should have been if he had let the line merge, even if he didn't tell the reason for his request.

The Council accepted and here you are. Your family was never really interested in power. But they did their duty since all this time, even if they were not heavily involved in the political world. They were historically merchants, or warriors. Some inventors in here too. By the way, don't talk about this to anyone, except when you marry. Ignotus Peverell never admitted any connection between the Potter and the Peverell family. Since he was the third son, he wasn't really popular, and families were not as social as right now. No one knew Iolanthe was born Peverell."

For all this time, Harry didn't say a word. It was a lot more than everyone ever said to him about his origins. And he didn't know what to think about this Noble House thing... Would it change his life? He was already famous, what about his relations with his friends? He was deep in thoughts but Sirius talked again.

"Now that you know more about how this all works, I have something to ask you. You see, I'm the Heir of the Black Family. I don't have the ring but it's because I rebelled against them. They were so deep in that blood purity bullshit, and even if I'm not prejudiced against dark magic in general, there's limits I don't cross and using the cruciatus as a punishment on your own kid... well. Fifty years ago our family was still quite big. My grandfather was the lord, but after the war with Grindelwald, he retired and left the affairs to my father. Then obviously he had Me, and then my brother. I have three cousins, Andromeda, the wife of Ted Tonks, but she was cast out of the family because Ted is a muggleborn. Then Bellatrix, who married in the Lestrange family. And finally Narcissa, who is the wife and mother of dear Lucius and Draco Malfoy. And this is my problem. When I die, the main line will go extinct. I can't claim the Lordship and change the requirement of the inheritance because there is still a male Black alive. Well, two actually but Draco would be the first to attain majority. And considering how vast, and not exclusively located in Britain, the family was once, there is probably a lot of other contenders. But when the main line die, every male related to at worst three generations to a Black could ask for the ring. Now the magic can refuse the Malfoy brat, but I refuse to take the risk."

Harry wasn't sure he understood well. Was he talking about Draco becoming the Lord Black?

"Sirius. Clarify this for me please. Are you saying that the next in line is Draco? What about Nymphadora? If you make the inheritance possible for women..?" Sirius shook his head resigned.

"It wouldn't work. I've read journals from my ancestors, one already tried and the magic refused. You see why I don't like the situation. Right now, the Black seat is occupied by Lucius as a proxy for his son, because Draco is the most logical choice for the succession, and no one contested the claim so the magic allows him to. You could claim it too but you are younger than Draco and he would claim the Lordship before you turn seventeen..."

"Wait! How? Are we related? I am a Black too?!" Sirius grinned a bit. "Oh yes you are! Even twice, considering my parents are cousins." He added with a grimace. "It's another little Potter secret. This one is quite recent and not that important but...

I told you my grandfather retired after the war with Grindelwald right? Well, even if the war didn't touch Britain, a lot of people grew tired of Britain's inaction. So they left and looked for the resistance. Fleamont Potter couldn't do it, he was already the Lord and he had no heir. They were trying with his wife but were unsuccessful. His brother however, Charlus, wasn't tied to this restriction and left. He met my grandfather there, with two other Blacks. Marius and Dorea. Fights after fights Charlus and Dorea grew closer. They married the year after the war ended. Sadly... Charlus was hurt with a really bad curse in one of the last fights, and he knew he wouldn't be able to have children. Not the natural way. However, in the seventeenth century, a potion was invented, it only needs the blood of the parents, and it must be drank by the woman who will carry the child, who can perfectly be a different one than the mother. It can also be used by two women or two men."

Harry reacted at this. "Oh, is this why I've never heard any remark against same sex couples in the magical world?"

"Yes, and magic doesn't care about sex. If you love someone of the same sex... well even before this it was accepted, there is another solution. I'm coming to it actually. That potion is extremely hard to brew. It's also very expensive, so it's used as a last resort. However, in the aftermath of the war, only one potion master was left in Britain. He was so overwhelmed with the demand that he refused to brew any potion that was time consuming for years. Both Fleamont and Charlus wanted that potion, but quickly, as Dumbledore gained power, legislation forbidding what was considered 'black magic' passed. And blood magic was one of these."

"And the potion require blood..." Harry understood quickly. Sirius smiled sadly.

"Indeed, and while it is forbidden to teach, brew, or take that potion in Britain... you can't be convicted of it if it happens in another country. Still, it wouldn't do if a Lord would bypass the law so evidently. Fleamont and Euphemia resigned themselves to not having a child, but once again, Charlus wasn't restricted. He and Dorea left for France, where Dorea took the potion.

Nine month later, James was born... and Dorea suffered a lot from giving birth. She had to stay bedridden for most days. And Charlus's health was declining. When James was two years old, Charlus died from illness. Dorea was obviously unable to take care of a small child. So she agreed to let James be adopted by Fleamont and Euphemia. To make it even more secured, they used a blood adoption ritual."

Harry frowned at this, and it made Sirius smirk. "Yes, surprising isn't it? The Lords accepted to ban all potions blood based. But they knew how to circumvent this, and since this is a ritual, and it is as much blood based than it has to do with family magic... let's say that Dumbledore tried, and it was one of his most brutal defeat in the Wizengamot. Family magic is sacred, it's outside the law. And every family keep it secret. For example I don't even know what the Potter family magic can do. James always refused to tell me.

James was quickly adopted" Sirius resumed his story. "He never knew about it, always called Dorea his Aunt, until Fleamont died, and he had access to the Lord office, where a letter addressed to him waited. And even if I've never had the proof it was real...  **you**  are the walking proof."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this.

"You've seen Nymphadora? When she is changing her form?" Harry nodded, still not getting what Sirius hinted at. "She is the first metamorphmagus in the family since a long time. Although I always suspected that Regulus could at least partially control the gift. I always thought it was why my parents suddenly were so obvious in their preference, but I've never seen Regulus change form. Coming back to you... your hair Harry. The fact that it grew back when your aunt shaved it. Then you told me not needing a haircut for years. Then last year when you wondered if having it longer would help tame it, it suddenly grows again? You told me you like how it is now, I wouldn't be surprised if it stopped growing again. This is clearly a latent trait of a metamorphmagus. I doubt you can change it at will, you would have discovered it by now. But it is definitely not accidental magic, it doesn't work like that."

Harry laughed weakly. "Well that's too bad. I wish I could cover up that damn scar." point at the lightning bolt. Sirius was surprised to hear this. "Not the one on your eye?"

Harry shook his head. "I honestly don't care about this one. Or any other one anymore. They just show I will not let anyone bring me down. I wouldn't mind the bolt if it wasn't associated with all this boy-who-lived bullshit." Sirius sighed and admitted he had a point.

"Coming back to the Black situation..." He pinched his lips. "Would you agree to let me adopt you? With the blood ritual I mean. First, I can't have kids anymore, Azkaban saw to that. I could use the potion with someone but ... I already consider you my son and... if I had raised you, I probably would have asked you way sooner, but...I feel bad asking you this now, and I don't want you to think I only do it just to avoid Malfoy inheriting it." He was not really sure how to express himself but suddenly a very emotional teen hugged him and they both fell from the couch.

"Sirius, I would do it just to get one at Malfoy!" Harry laughed. "But I know you care about me, I don't need an adoption for accepting this. You don't have to worry I understand."

The floo flared and a pair of twins discovered them like this, and began teasing a pair of blushing future father and son. Quickly, the rest of the shopping expedition arrived. Hermione was still glowing, the earlier prefect badge she had received firmly in her hand. Ron was just as happy, impatient to use his new broom. The rest of the order began showing up too. They had a meeting that night. They were only waiting for Dumbledore when harry suddenly remembered something.

"Sirius! I've forgot to ask, you know the potion we discussed? What would happen if three people participated?" Sirius thought about it, either it would ruin it or the baby would have three parents... but he wasn't aware of how the potion was brewed.

"I don't know, it would depend of the recipe I guess... You can probably find it in the Black restricted portion of the library. I didn't know you were interested in potions Harry. Your mother was very good at it." Harry frowned, everyone thought that, he wasn't that bad! "Well, it's not that I don't like potions. I don't like potions class, that's different. There's no way I can produce something decent there. Either someone will throw something at my cauldron when I'm not looking, or Snape will not let me brew quietly. And he will just vanish my entire potion on the first mistake when I can still salvage it! I'm pretty sure I have a good grasp on the theory now, it's actually the subject I read the most with defense. Honestly, I just don't care, he aimed at me from the very first lesson, so I'm not trying anymore. It's a shame, at first potions was the subject I was the most excited. Cooking was the only thing I enjoyed at the Dursleys, and it's similar, just more complex."

"Is that so?" A sweet voice interrupted him. Harry stiffened, recognizing who just talked. "Then tell me, if you anticipated my class so much, why did you not try?" He looked genuinely interested by the answer so Harry decided to tell him the truth.

"I did! For half a year I tried my hardest, but seeing you taking pleasure when Malfoy could make my cauldron melt without consequence was depressing. If you remember my essays were decent in first year! But at some point I decided to stop trying. And you know you how you acted. Remember how hard your questions were the very first lesson? And even if you asked questions a beginner could answer, I had absolutely no knowledge at all! How was I supposed to get it right?"

Snape hid a little smile at the memory. "I admit that the questions on the Draught of Living Death and the Wolfsbane were hard, but the bezoar, really? It's such a common antidote to poisons it's evoked in the first chapter of 1001 Potions."

"I don't have that book. It certainly wasn't on the list for first year." Harry frowned.

"It's on the suggested list for all muggleborns, Potter!" Harry blinked. There was a different list for the muggleborns?

"Harry is not a muggleborn, Snape! Why should he have that list!" Sirius was losing patience. The rest of the order was dead silent.

"He was raised by muggles. The situation is the same. Or do you suggest that half and pure blood have information ingrained in them from birth, Black?" For once, Harry was happy that sarcastic tone wasn't directed at him. Snape then stared at him again. "Who explained to you the existence of the magical world Potter? Who took you on your first visit in Diagon Alley? That person should have given you a list about suggested books concerning the different subjects Hogwarts offers, and pamphlets about our world, obviously it wasn't done." Harry hesitated. Hagrid had apparently made a mistake, but he didn't want his friend to be blamed. Still, he would not let that happen to another kid.

"It was Hagrid." He then told them reluctantly. For a moment Snape seemed not to believe him. He then turned to McGonagall who had her mouth wide open. "Minerva, is this true? Since when Hagrid is allowed to bring muggleborns into our world?" The woman focused quickly, and her tone was of hidden anger.

"He is most definitively not! Albus told me he wanted to bring Harry himself!" Hearing this, Snape sighed and took a decision.

"Very well. Potter, you claim you can be good at potions?" Harry nodded slowly. He was becoming suspicious. A civil Snape was an unknown situation. "I will give you a year. For a year I will stop anyone trying to sabotage your work. I will stop putting such an... obvious focus on you and instead treat you like any other ... gryffindor." Harry snorted at this. Snape ignored him. "I have only one condition for this. You will give your very best. Is it satisfactory for you?" Harry nodded. "Yes, that seems fair professor." Snape curled his lip, and his eyes shone with amusement. "Good. Now, when you fail at your OWL, I will be able to say you failed on your own only." Everyone else was still shocked by Snape's attitude. Even if still was snarky, he had implied an apology and acted on it. They were brought back to reality when the floo flared, and Dumbledore emerged.

"Oh my, such a silence, did something happened?"

"No Albus. But please, tell me, why did Mr Potter never had the proper muggleborn introduction like he was supposed to?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he answered with that grandfatherly tone he was so well know for. "I must have forgot. I had an unplanned meeting with Cornelius that day, so I had to send Hagrid instead. Did I never tell you?"

Harry left the room, a bit dejected. Of course he had an excuse!

* * *

The last day before Harry had to return to Hogwarts. Sirius had a last conversation concerning the adoption. Harry had been disappointed that he could not do it on the summer but Sirius had explained he needed a particular potion, and to prepare a ritual room.

Sirius promised they would do it on the Christmas break. He also said he would be organizing a trip to Gringotts so that he could claim the Potter ring, but he knew if Dumbledore learnt of it, he would try anything to stop Harry. The more Sirius and Harry thought about it, the more they were convinced Dumbledore wanted to keep him ignorant.

For the first time, Harry wasn't completely happy to return to Hogwarts. He had a wonderful month, despite the trial, and his early recovery, and leaving Sirius was proving more difficult than he expected. Even with the mirror, it would still not be the same.


	4. Fifth year

Blaise was getting excited to come back to Hogwarts for the first time. Oh he enjoyed his time at school, but it was different. Everything was changing in Britain and he wondered what would be the most discussed subject in the train. Would that be Fudge? The Dark Lord maybe, with Draco it was a safe bet. Or The Trial? Maybe Potter in general. The press certainly had embraced his story. For so long, the mystery of Harry Potter's disappearance had lasted. And then on this mock trial, everything went to hell. At least, it explained a lot about Potter. So much speculations about him. Why was he so scrawny? Was he ill? Did the Killing Curse do some damage even if he survived it? And who raised him? The rumors about muggles were persistent but no one thought Dumbledore so bold that he would rip the hero boy from a magical childhood. And Potter had been so secretive... yet he was strong, clearly the best fighter in their year, demonstrated by how much Malfoy was humiliated again and again. And his skill on a broom was already legendary, of course he had to have lessons before coming to Hogwarts.

On the other hand, he was associating with Weasleys... While they were not as badly perceived as before, they were still blood traitors. It was strange. Why had he not sought out the people of the old alliance of his grandfather? But then his father had been a fervent supporter of Dumbledore, so it was not surprising the old man was the proxy for the Potter seat. Still, he didn't even look close to the Longbottom heir !

"Well," Blaise mused. "Now, everything makes sense." He had been shocked. Abuse was nonexistent in the old pureblood families. Children were cherished. Some parents tried to mold their progeny after them, but if it didn't work, they were deemed failure and cast out of the family at worst. Punishment certainly was present but not outright abuse. And him growing up with muggles explained why he was ignorant, and had terrible taste in clothes!

Yes, Potter definitely would be talked about with his year mates. Draco Malfoy and his crew would love to tease him. Not sure it would work though. If Potter had been ready to talk about it, he probably had the mental fortitude to resist teasing... Somehow Blaise wondered if Draco had a crush on the boy. He wasn't that good looking, but he had his charm. And these green eyes were so damn hypnotic, that was cheating. No one should have eye like this. Blaise looked at the Prophet article where Potter was leaving the courtroom with his lawyer.

"Alright, he look damn good when he has proper clothes." Blaise admitted to himself. And he never had seen him properly groomed before. That made a big difference too. Although not a traditional haircut, who favored long hair, he could understand after the mess Potter's hair was last year.

"Who are you talking about?" Asked the woman at the door of his room.

_Shit!_  He thought for a moment to lie, but he knew his mother always managed to find the truth. He sighed and showed her the photo.

"Oooh, does my son have a crush on Harry Potter?" She teased him. Blaise rolled his eyes.

"No, I was actually thinking that Draco having a crush on him would explain a lot. I just didn't understand how before, but I have to admit he looks good with proper clothes and a decent haircut. And you perfectly know he has these cheating eyes. But when I think about it, it has probably more to do with his magic." If his mother was surprised, she didn't show any of it. But her eyes seemed to tell 'Explain.' so he resumed.

"Usually you can't feel anything from him. I assumed at first he had training containing it, but that seems unlikely now with him being raised by muggles. He probably is doing it instinctively. But when he really powers up a spell... It's intoxicating. Like a drug."

"Is he that powerful?" His mother asked.

"Hmm, no, he is certainly above average but it is more the feeling. It's warm, but it doesn't burn you. It's like a caress, but still firm enough that it feels good. Even when it's a curse the magic feels peaceful. But I don't think it's the reason Draco might be attracted. It's probably more the fact that Potter is dominating him without effort, and he is not used to being resisted. He wanted so badly to be his friend, he was extremely frustrated that Potter refused to shake his hand in first year, he ranted about it for weeks." A little smirk showed on his face, remembering that time.

His mother was pensive, and humming, and she started to smile. That very same smile she gave him every time she knew something he didn't.

"You realize that if he isn't abnormally powerful, your reaction prove that you two ARE probably a good match, right? Instead of thinking of the Malfoy kid, perhaps you should approach baby Potter.." She stopped talking when she saw him glaring. "Don't be stupid Blaise, you know I'm right. And don't serve me the 'He is a gryffindor' excuse, you don't know him. And you perfectly know you could be a gryffindor yourself, you are just too much calculating, but you certainly can be reckless when you think you have a good plan." Her voice was filled with mirth. He hated when she destroyed his arguments even before he voiced them.

"Fine, I will think about it. But I've heard he hates everything slytherin so don't get your hopes high. You have as much chance to have a Potter in the family than to have a Dumbledore I tell you."

She laughed at that. "I certainly hope you have a better chance! The Dumbledore brothers are way too old for either of us my son. Are you ready to leave? The train leaves in less than an hour."

* * *

Two hours later, after discussing banalities with Daphne, Draco and Pansy came back from the Prefect meeting. The others refused to talk of anything interesting without these two so Blaise had stayed mostly silent.

"So, who are the other prefects?" asked Millicent.

"Goldstein and Patil for Ravenclaw. Abbott and Macmilian for Hufflepuff. And Weasley and Granger for Gryffindor."

_That was a little surprising, not Potter?_  Thought Blaise.

"Oooh, not Potter? It confirms a bit the rumors circulating since the trial." Tracey was already in full analyse mode. How she did it, Blaise didn't know, but he was sure of one thing. If Tracey wanted to try politics, she would eat them all.

"Rumors? I didn't hear anything. Explain." Good old Draco. He seemed even more arrogant now. Between his shiny badge and the return of the Dark Lord... he probably would be horrible this year.

"Well, everyone knows Potter refused Dumbledore to represent him at his trial. And the way he and his lawyer turned the whole thing was masterful. They managed to destroy everything Fudge planned, but without insulting him. In the end since it was Dumbledore who placed Potter with these muggles, Fudge even if he didn't get the result he wanted can redirect everything at Dumbledore. Now, all the press can tell is how Potter had a hard life, how outraging it is, how Dumbledore didn't get senile last year after proclaiming You-Know-Who was back, but way before. And him coming dressed like a wizard when everyone expected him to keep the muggle style he had since he came back in the magical world was a very good move too. Someone heard Dumbledore, he wasn't approving. And I've seen Potter when he came this morning, he is still keeping the wizarding fashion! Everyone is wondering what is happening."

"Well," He decided to intervene. "The most obvious conclusion is that he didn't know how to dress. He was raised with muggles after all. And it certainly won't be the Weasley family who will advice him on this subject."

"Yes! Him raised by filthy muggles explains so much! How can he stands this honestly?"  
_Oh Draco._  He was so damn sheltered from the real world sometimes.

"Do you think he has a choice Draco? You do realize he has no family left? And his godfather is a fugitive." Blaise smirked wildly. Daphne always chose the best moments to say her part. And it was often to humiliate Draco. Lucius Malfoy was actively seeking a contract between the Malfoy and the Greengrass family, in the hope to absorb the seat since there were no male Heir. Daphne hated how Draco acted like it was already done, as she perfectly knew her father would never give in.

"Well he could run! Especially if staying resulted in him getting disfigured." He looked disgusted. That shot down his theory that Draco had a crush. Or maybe he had but the scar effectively repulsed him. Draco was certainly the type of rejecting someone just because of a small detail like that.

"I wonder how you would do on the street Draco. You already look disgusted when you get dirty playing quidditch after all. Talking about the muggles. How does it feel to get bested by not one, but two people with no magical education before Hogwarts Draco?"

_**That**_ _was dirty Daph..._  She had that angelic smile, and an expression who screamed 'I don't think anything bad about you, I'm just interested in how you take it." but everyone knew she was teasing him mercilessly. Remembering him how he always lost to Potter. Be it in their duels, or in chasing the snitch. And how Granger bested him, even at potions half the time. He decided to push him even more.

"You know, I actually thought about it a lot this summer. You talk about Potter a lot more than anyone else. And after that picture in the Prophet, I have to admit he looks decent... Is that it Draco? Do you have a crush on Potter? Maybe if you shagged him once, you could let go of that unbearable obsession you have towards him." He tried to hide his amusement and to appear sincere but it was becoming harder. Especially since Draco actually blushed a bit. So he wasn't wrong! Too bad everyone else was looking at him. They were probably too shocked he had dare to ask this to react otherwise. He would have to tell the girls later. Their stupor was broken by Parkinson who burst out laughing. She then took Draco's arm and put her body the closest of his body she could. How could Draco stand this, he didn't know. The girl was so ugly! But if the Malfoys didn't get the Greengrass seat, it was logical that they would get the less valued Parkinson only 'Noble' seat. And that meant that Draco would be expected to marry Pansy. Poor guy.

"There's no way Draco think about Potter that way! Besides he's not even good looking. And he's not a pureblood, how can you suggest that Draco would be attracted by someone like that?"

"Come on Pansy, you can't tell me if he asked you out you would say no? I know I would say yes. These eyes are so unfair, they shouldn't exist on a boy." She scowled at this. But she seemed sincere.  _So Daphne may have a little crush on Potter too. Interesting._

Pansy however looked utterly disgusted. "But he's a half blood!" Daphne shrugged.

_Ah. Well, if she prefers to marry an ugly pureblood, her choice._

* * *

The feast went well. That speech by Umbridge had been quite illuminating. He didn't know how the ministry had managed to do that. Hogwarts was outside any governing body. And definitely outside the ministry since it predated his founding. Maybe something about education in general?

He only hoped she would be a decent teacher. He may have had tutors, but defense never was his best subject, and it was OWL year after all. And it was certainly needed in the dealings his family were involved into.

Draco and Pansy had dealt with the first years quite harshly. So he decided to take a look at their dormitory and found one crying. After a little discussion, the boy finally admitted that the youngest Derwent had opened his trunk by force and thrown everything on the floor. Blaise with a flick of his wand stored everything back on the boy's trunk, then created for him a simple but effective ward that would stun everyone not the owner of the trunk trying to open it.

Draco and Pansy really were stupid sometimes. It was always good to gain the younger years loyalty. It avoided future potential problems.

First week wasn't disappointing. Despite Umbridge ruining their education. He would have to mail his mother to find a solution. However it was quite fun seeing her try to anger Potter. If Fudge had changed his opinion concerning the teen, Blaise didn't know but Umbridge still was out for blood. But so far Potter was holding himself admirably. It was clear he had problems keeping his calm but this far, it was the other gryffindors who snapped. Weasley in particular was angry, and Blaise had heard him yell at Potter, not getting why he wasn't saying anything. That was clear for everyone but him he guessed.

Another interesting fact was his head of house. Towards Potter, once again. It was weird seeing them civil after four years at each other throat. Even more shocking was Snape threatening Draco to give him detention the next time he would throw unknown ingredients in others people's cauldrons! Everyone knew he had hinted at Potter's and Draco had failed his potion this day. And Potter had managed a near perfect one. Even Snape looked impressed, while Granger looked ... disappointed?

But the most interesting was the announce of this High Inquisitor. In essence, it wasn't a bad decision... Binns needed to be fired, Trelawney was a fraud, and Hagrid despite knowing his subject had... questionable methods. His replacement was quite good however. But if Umbridge teachings were any indication, it could become really bad. If they couldn't practice neither in charms or transfiguration.. well it would be better to ask a transfer to Durmstrang.

* * *

Harry's first week was good and bad at the same time. Bad because that toad bitch was really grating on his nerves and he knew at this rhythm he would never keep his temper until the end of the year. And that Educational Decree could only mean bad things. Sure Binns and Trelawney were terrible teachers, but he was getting worried for Hagrid. First he was still missing. And Sirius had told him that woman was the principal advocate for all the werewolves laws who promoted discrimination. Right now he truly hated the pink toad and he hoped the curse on the defense position would hurry up a bit and act before the end of the year, and before Hagrid returned.

The other bad point was his sleep. These dreams were becoming more and more annoying. They made no sense! He just walked, until he woke up. And his scar tinkled for a few hours after that.

Then, on the other side, Snape for now was respecting their arrangement. The face on Malfoy's face when Snape stopped him was priceless. He had even seen quite a few slytherins smirking. Three girls that Hermione named for him later, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass and Sophie Roper. And two boys, who he already knew the names, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini.

And to finish that beautiful day, he had the second best potion! Malfoy had completely failed his own, Hermione was two shades too thick, and only Daphne Greengrass had done better. Snape had stared at him for ten seconds after seeing his potion and he had left the potion class feeling smug for the first time in his life. Hermione had harassed him for hours before he finally told her the deal he made with Snape at Grimmauld Place but she had a hard time believing Harry could be good, even if left alone.

Harry felt a bit offended at this and swore he would keep up his efforts.

The other good thing was the talk he had with Neville on Thursday night. He had managed to ask him for a private conversation a few days prior and now that it was done he blamed Dumbledore even more.

They were both sat on the couch near the fire when Harry decided to be honest with Neville from the beginning.

"I don't want you to accuse you, but I recently learnt about the Noble House thing, and that you are me are heirs to our family." Neville nodded shyly at this. "Why... did you never talk about it with me?"

"You didn't know anything I assume? I've read you grew up with muggles." Harry nodded and Neville pinched his lips.

"I had my doubts but you didn't have your ring. You see, being the heir of noble family can be... quite a burden. So, it's decided between the heir and his family if the heir decides to show his ring or not. It's a very old custom that if the heir doesn't let his ring be visible, no one should approach him to talk about all that pertains about his family."

He closed his eyes for a bit and a beautiful ring appeared on his left hand. "My gran doesn't think I'm ready so we chose to not show it." The ring disappeared again.

"My gran actually asked me at the beginning of each year if you had your ring. Our families were allies when your grandfather was the lord and she would like to renew it. But she doesn't agree with Dumbledore's agenda, you are aware he is your proxy I hope?" He seemed panicked for a moment before Harry reassured him. "Well, she says Dumbledore will end us all if he we let him free. She has nothing against muggles but she is an isolationist."

Harry agreed internally. He didn't want the magical world to be known to muggles. It was way too dangerous.

"She also regrets that some forms of magic are banned now. Blood magic, a lot of rituals, some spells judged too dangerous even if they could be used for healing purpose." It made a lot of sense to Harry. He told Neville he would probably get his ring in the Christmas break, but that he didn't want Dumbledore to know. Neville promised to keep the secret and Harry was glad to have seen such a different side of Neville.

With Seamus treating him like a psycho because his mother believed the propaganda the Prophet had written for a month, and Dean supporting him, it felt good to have another friendly face in the dorm.


	5. Punishment

OWL year was crazy, Harry concluded. Only one month done and he was submerged by homework, even if he fared pretty well compared to the others boys from what he could tell. Only Neville seemed better organised than him. Hermione still looked at him suspiciously, as if he wasn't really him. He decided not to worry about it, it was quite amusing actually.

Quidditch training had started again, and Angelina was on the same level of craziness as Oliver. Ron was inconsistent and he was either looking like a professional, or a complete beginner.

He was enjoying potions better than ever. Snape, in an effort to dissuade his slytherin to defy his authority, started to pair gryffindor and slytherin together. So far he had to pair with Greengrass, Nott, Goyle and Zabini. He had ended up doing the potion alone because Goyle was a mess, and Nott had stayed oddly silent for all the class. Greengrass and Zabini kept throwing him weird looks, but brewing with them had been quite pleasant. Greengrass was a bit bossy, while she evaluated if he was competent or not but he was used to it with Hermione. Zabini had been... easy to work with. He had left to him the brewing process, and presented him every ingredient perfectly prepared and in an impeccable timing. After a month, Harry had now been associated twice with the best potion of the class. He felt he was slowly gaining Snape's respect, when the man actually gave him an advice on how to ease the cutting of kneazle's claws.

However the dreams kept coming. Tonight had been a particular bad one. Three times he had fallen asleep to awake after a useless walk in a dark corridor.

The day felt endless. Charms had been easy, but the amount of homework was depressing. Transfiguration was harder but he managed to completely vanish his snail so he was exempt from additional work.

But when he left the divination class he was ready to explode. That fraud had once again predicted his death, saying he would combust himself spontaneously. Honestly! He had asked McGonagall to drop the subject but after consulting with Dumbledore she had said the old man insisted he kept it because it was 'important'.

He entered the defense classroom and sat on his desk, taking out that useless book.

Five minutes later, the toad asked them as usual to put away their wands. Nobody moved. Then she told them which chapter to read. However, Lavender had raised his hand. It was quite rare after a month of efforts, students had learned it was useless with her.

"Yes miss Brown?" She still had that sick smile who gave him shudders.

"After asking my parents if they thought it was achievable to manage the spells for the first time in our practical exam, they said I would probably fail. When I told them you didn't want any spell in class, they suggested we could practice in old classrooms so do not endanger anyone. I wanted to ask you which room you would agree we can practice before asking professor McGonagall."

Umbridge blinked.  
 _She didn't expect such a reasonable request. I wonder what excuse she gave her._

"Miss Brown, are your parents qualified to judge how children should be taught?"  
 _Ah. That bitch, she will just discredit them._

"No, but they remember how they were as students, and they never managed a spell on their very first try. Neither were their friends..."

"Miss Brown. Think about your solution. These spell are dangerous... you can't have forgotten what terrible tragedy happened at the end of your last year?" She had a concerned look and her eyes fluttered vaguely towards Harry.  
 _Oh that damn woman, she can't suggest I accidentally killed Cedric?_  Harry felt anger growing. He had gotten better at managing this insatiable anger who always seemed ready to explode, but suggesting he had killed...

Lavender however was completely lost.

"I don't understand professor. What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Mr Diggory of course! The ministry judged these spells dangerous to learn in presence of a teacher. I cannot condone you practicing in an old classroom without supervision. We know what can happen to those who are a bit too eager to use them, after all. Especially since some of you are so... volatile. We all learned how can supposedly accidental magic be dangerous this summer after all." And this time she was deliberately staring at him, with that fake sweet smile.

_That was it, he would clear everything once and for all!_

"Are you suggesting I am responsible for Cedric's death?" Her smile grew even wider.

"Your hand Mr Potter. And I am only telling that you can be dangerous. Your uncle has sadly been on the result of your temper this summer."

"My uncle was the dangerous one! Or have you not read the damn reports from the aurors?!"

"Oh my, you don't have to be so angry dear. It was only their words, and we all know what fame can accomplish... I remember one of the aurors was the daughter of your lawyer, mmh? I know Amos Diggory, the father of the poor boy, he was quite disappointed in how our justice failed to punish you. But we all know what excuse you served us to cover your blunder after all."

"You perfectly know I didn't kill him! My wand was examined, and there were no spells who could explain how Cedric die! It was proven it was the killing curse!"

"Enough Mr Potter! You will stop your lies. It cannot be the killing curse, Such magic was impossible inside the maze. And if somehow, one of the champions had managed it, we could have detected it."

"So what, you think Cedric dropped dead on his own?"

She didn't answer this, and smiled. "Mr Potter, I am tired of your attitude, you will serve detention with me tonight. This will hopefully, make your understand your place, and that you should stop spreading theses disgusting rumors."

* * *

"What do you think she hopes to accomplish by making his life hell like that?" Daphne asked. Lately it was the big talk among Slytherin House. Potter had finally snapped, and if he was honest, he had a good reason to. She nearly said he had murdered another student after all. And that day, Potter had already looked exhausted, he was probably too tired to control himself.

Tracey thought about it for a moment. "Well, it may be personal. She looked feral the first time she managed to make him snap. I don't know what's happening in those detentions but lately Potter has always a bandaged hand."

Yes, it was another reason people talked. Potter wasn't the only one like that. Blaise had tried to know what it was but no slytherin was concerned.

"Or maybe it is political. Potter may not talk about it, but you can see he is frustrated about the situation. I would be too if I had been forced to witness  **his**  resurrection, only to escape by miracle and then be accused of lying. So she could try to break him."

"Well if that is her goal, she is doing her job well. Between the detentions, that decree about organisations was genius. Everyone knows he loves quidditch. I heard she still hasn't given her authorization, so they can't practice." Daphne like always, knew everything in this castle. He didn't know how she built such a network but it was very efficient.

Tracey had a little sparkle in her eyes hearing this.

"Oooh, I may have heard a rumor you are not aware! I nearly forgot." Daphne gave her the 'I'm the Queen, there's no way you have info I don't have.'

"I heard, the reason for the Decree is actually not annoying Potter with quidditch... it's actually to stop him creating a defense club. Some people are asking him to step up, seeing as he is the best in our year by far, and possibly the best in the school."

"That would make more sense in my opinion." Approved Blaise. "Did he say yes?" Tracey didn't know. Still, he was intrigued. If such a club existed maybe he could ask to be let in. He badly needed help and maybe Potter would not refuse him. They worked pretty well in potions and he never had been crass with him. It could also help knowing him a bit better..

During the month, he saw Potter getting more and more exhausted. Umbridge had finally allowed the gryffindor team to practice, and he supposed their captain felt she had to compensate the time lost. Samhain was approaching, or what they called it here, Halloween, he thought with disgust. He felt a bit sad at the idea of not being able to celebrate it once again. He longed to feel his father. But he still had two more years to wait before the next celebration.

* * *

Harry felt empty. Between so much homework, Angelina not caring if Ron and he had OWLs and being even more of a slave driver because they had been forbidden to practice for so long, and these damn detentions! He had snapped once, and yet she kept giving him detentions for nothing. He had tried talking to McGonagall, but she blatantly told him to lay low. He was already doing this!

And that bitch had the nerve to give him detention today of all days! He had planned to skip the feast, like usual, because he was never in the mood to celebrate Halloween. She had seen him distracted for a minute and in an instant, she had ruined the day even more.

A very disillusioned with life Harry entered the defense classroom. As always, an empty parchment was on the desk.

"Mr Potter, come in, so happy to see you tonight." And for once he believed her. What a sadistic bitch.

"Do you want me to change the sentence for tonight? Maybe a 'I should not remember my parents the day they died'? or 'I should not be sad about my parents in the presence of the High Inquisitor'? Both seems quite true at the moment.

Her smile did not falter. If anything, he could see the glee in her eyes.

"No, Mr Potter, you will keep the usual line. I do not think the lessons is learnt yet."

And so he began writing. Line after line. He thought after some time that it was probably the longest time he had to do it since he began these 'detentions'. At this point he stopped feeling the pain, his head became heavier. He wondered if too much writing with that blasted quill could kill him.

Finally, she yawned and got up and grabbed his hand. "Let me see. Hmm very good, for once I think I can see you did good Mr Potter. You can leave."

He got up and felt dizzy. He left the classroom and was wondering if he would made it to the common room when he felt his legs stopped supporting him.

* * *

Blaise was working on his defense essay. The more he tried, the more he felt reluctant writing this nonsense about non aggression. It was getting late, but he wasn't sleepy... Deciding a walk could help him clear his head, he left the common room. Luckily, no one cared. In Slytherin House, the only thing that mattered was if you were caught or not. But his mother had taught him the disillusionment charm this summer, insisting that it could be important.

He wandered not knowing exactly where to go, when he heard a noise, as if someone just fell. He approached, discretely, in case it was a professor.

_Is that blood on the floor?_  He frowned. He was near the defense classroom... Maybe it had to do with these bandaged hands mystery.

A few meters away, he saw someone lying on the flood, and more and more blood the closer to the body. Discarding discretion, he hurried up and instantly recognized hair like this. His hand was a mess, more red than anything, but he still seemed conscious.

"Potter, are you alright? Can you walk? You need the infirmary with a hand like this. What happened?" The other one looked groggy, but green eyes met amber ones.

"Zabini?" he asked him weakly. "Too much questions." he grumbled. He seemed to think for a bit and shook his head. "I don't think I can walk, I've tried and I landed on the floor." he grinned a bit.

"But you're well enough to joke?" He raised his eyebrow. The other shrugged a bit but he seemed serious. "Fine, I will take you there." He passed Potter's arm around his neck and started carrying him. He was heavier than he had thought at first. "You didn't tell me what happened."

Harry snorted. "Umbridge happened. That quill is evil I tell you."

_Quill? She wouldn't dare using a blood quill on a student? And Potter was the damn heir of a Noble house! If she got caught she would be sentenced to Azkaban, her trial would be very one sided if there was enough proof._

"Are you talking about a blood quill Potter?" But he got no answer. "Potter?"

_Ah. So he lost consciousness. He must have lost more blood than I thought._

He entered the infirmary, and called for the mediwitch. When she saw Potter, she quickly put him on a bed before asking him what he knew.

"I found him on the floor near the defense classroom. He talked about Umbridge and a quill.. when I asked him if he was talking about a blood quill he was already sleeping." She pinched her lips and her eyes radiated anger. She examined the bloodied hand, cleaned the blood, and tried to close the wound but it didn't work.

"I think this confirms it. Blood quills can't be healed normally, they make cursed scars. Can you stay here for a moment? I need to look for some potions and a way to ease the pain for him. Try to wake him up, I will need him aware. I need to see the headmaster too." He nodded and she left swiftly.

He got closer to the gryffindor. He couldn't help to think that he looked much better without his glasses. Maybe he wasn't aware there were magical solutions to see without them? He shook him gently. "Potter, you have to wake up, Pomfrey wants to talk to you when she comes back."

He opened slowly his eyes, and looked at Blaise. "Oh, hello again." he said with a little smile. "Where are my glasses...?" Blaise thought about it, but he couldn't remember seeing them on Potter when he found him.

"They must still be on the floor near the defense classroom. You didn't have them on you when I found you. And I forgot, I'm sorry." Harry nodded. "Why do you keep glasses anyway? You look much better without them." If Harry still seemed groggy before, he was now completely focused. The intensity surprised Blaise. "It's possible? I always hated theses glasses. Why no one told me?"

_Ah, that explains a lot. He would bet people assumed he knew._

"Well, I don't know about Pomfrey, but I assume the others thought you knew, considering very few people were aware you had been raised by muggles before."

"That's a logical assumption indeed Mr Zabini." The old mediwitch commented. So she had heard him. "As for myself, Mr Potter, I should apologize. I always assumed you did not wish to part with your glasses. Your father did not and I never asked myself if you were aware or not an alternative existed."

Blaise snorted at this. Pomfrey looked at him strangely. "Well, the only solution that existed when his father was alive was a potion which was banned because it uses blood. I sincerely doubt James Potter would agree to drink such a potion. And magically correcting lenses are fairly recent."

Pomfrey admitted he had a point and Harry was... looking at him like he could see his soul. It was strangely disturbing.

"Are you interested then Mr Potter? It's quite late but I can check if one of the St Mungo's healers on guard duty could perform the charm. I will keep you here tonight either way." Harry didn't even hesitate.

_He must really want to get rid of them._  Blaise thought, amused.

"Very well, take these two potions while I pass a floo call." She left once again.

"Ugh, what are these?" He was obviously having trouble reading the label.

"How blind are you? This is a blood replenishment. The other is for stopping any illness you could have gotten with a wound like this touching the floor."

"Oh. Thank you." He drank both the potions and was still grimacing when Pomfrey came back, followed by another, younger woman.

"Mr Potter, this is healer Clarence. Luckily for you, she has the proper qualification and is allowed to perform the charm and she had lenses in stock. Now, you will need to stay still for fives minutes so you will be stunned. I will also bandage your hand in the meantime. It will hurt a bit, as the lenses will fix to your eyes, so don't panic, it's perfectly normal. Once the charm is over, you will have to close your eyes for twelve hours. Healer Clarence generally stick a bandana around the head to cover the eyes of her patients, it's easier to let your eyes closed if you have some weight on them. Do you have any question?"

He shook his head.

_No hesitation at all even when she evoked pain. But he seemed a bit anxious when she explained he would have to close his eyes for twelve hours? That's interesting._

Both healers worked and in a matter of minutes Harry was all fixed.

"Right. It's 0:25 am. Just to be sure, I will come and check you again at 1PM. You should sleep now Mr Potter. Mr Zabini, it was nice of you to bring your classmate here, but you definitively shouldn't be here this late."

_Ah crap. I completely forgot about this._  He tried to put on his best charming smile. "Is it possible to say I didn't feel well? I could spend the night here?"

She tried not to smile, he could see it. Still, she nodded and left, accompanying healer Clarence back.

"So, I look good without glasses uh?" Blaise startled.

_I thought he was sleeping. How resilient is he?_  This made him frown.

"You do. Your eyes are legendary you know. It's like cheating. There's no way you'd ask out someone and got a 'no' as answer. Well except for blood purists who would only think of you as a half blood but who cares about them? But it was a waste hiding them behind those ugly glasses."

"Hmm, I never thought about it. I mean, except when I look at the mirror, I don't see them a lot. And I always associated them with my mother..."

After a comfortable silence, he saw him becoming a bit agitated.

"Are you alright? I've seen you getting anxious when they said you would have to close your eyes until tomorrow, and you look nervous right now."

Harry visibly paled.

_Ah. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, it seems quite serious._

"It... makes me remember this summer. I thought I lost an eye, it was so inflated I couldn't open it, and it was painful too. It's alright, I will sleep and I won't see time pass." But he looked quite shaken.

_Maybe I should try to cheer him up._

"I see. Well maybe you can think of something else. Now that I generously informed you how irresistible you will be, is there someone you'd like to go out with?"

Harry laughed a bit, but shook his head.

"I've actually never thought about it. I've been too preoccupied with my studies, and worried about all the shit that happened every damn year. Not really the time for a romance... I suppose when I HAD to think about it last year for the ball, there was a girl I found beautiful but that's it."

"So nothing between you, Granger and Weasley then, hmm. Good to know. There are still some idiots who think you three are in a relationship, even after Granger was involved with Krum."

Harry looked disgusted and left a 'Eeeewww" while Blaise was laughing. "Are you serious? Some people really think that?!"

"Sadly yes." He paused for a bit. This was the moment, Potter was answering him honestly, probably because he refused to think he couldn't see right now. "What about boys?"

"What about them?"

_Ah, well that's an answer in itself. Never acknowledged the possibility I bet._

"Well, if girls don't attract you that much, maybe it's because you like boys."

Potter didn't answer him. For a moment Blaise thought he had screwed up. He knew in the muggle world it wasn't accepted everywhere. Why couldn't he be more patient? He looked at the other one once again and he saw him, not angry nor disgusted but chewing his lip, and then he left a deep sigh.

"It's complicated. I've learned recently it's a normal thing in the magical world, because there are alternate ways to bring a kid in a same sex family. But I've lived for fourteen years with people spouting homosexuals were freaks, who should be put down like rabbits. I can say honestly I never considered it."

_Called it. These people are really disgusting._

"Well, does thinking about it disgusts you?" Another pause. "No, I don't think so.."

_Alright, should I push him? He seems alright..._

"Do you want to try?" At this, Harry snorted. "With who? You may think I can have everyone, it's doesn't make it true you know!"

_He didn't say no. ... Alright, fuck it._

"Well, I was offering myself actually. But that's your call." Harry was once again chewing his bottom lip.

_Is he seriously considering it?_

"Alright." For the first time Blaise was happy Harry could not see. It would have been extremely degrading witnessing him so surprised he could not even think to close his mouth.

_Alright Blaise, it's time._

He approached him slowly, put his hand on his cheek, and pressed his lips softly against Potter's before retreating and waiting for his reaction. Which was absolutely not what he expected. He laughed.

"That's all? How am I supposed to know if I like it or not? That was so not a kiss! I'm disappointed." The brat was grinning! But Blaise had to admit he had a point.

"Alright, I wanted to be sure. This time It will be a real one, you can stop me any time you want, are you ready?" Harry nodded and so he faced him once again. This time he posed firmly his lips and did not leave. Harry seemed hesitant but he progressively opened his mouth and soon enough their tongues were playing with each other. Harry had clearly no experience but he adapted quickly and Blaise instead of trying to guide him lost himself and enjoyed it. He felt Harry shuddering and feared he had pushed him too much.

However, Harry was licking his lips and Blaise saw a very evident bump on his pants.

"Liked it?" he teased him.

But he couldn't get an answer. A distressed Poppy Pomfrey came barging in.

"Harry? Are you alright? Your heart is beating way too fast." Then she saw him blushing. She saw the other boy particularly smug and understood quickly. She shook her head, reassured. "Teens! It's late boys, I can see you probably enjoy your... conversation, but you can continue in the morning, I am sure."

Harry seemed even more embarrassed after hearing this but he managed an answer. "Hmm that's the thing. I am not sure I can sleep right now. I'm pretty sure if Blaise hadn't talked to me I would be having a panic attack right now."

_Oh, it's Blaise now? And you definitely won't sleep now, but not for the same reason I'm sure._ He smirked in his head.

"I see. Sadly I can't help you with this. A single spell could disturb the charm on your eyes, and I can't give you any calming or sleeping potions. They would react badly with the ones you already ingested. Maybe a hot shower would help you relax? I can help you if you have problems standing."

Harry looked horrified. "Err, I'm not sure..." She rolled her eyes.  _Is she having fun?_  "Mr Potter, I've seen quite a lot of naked boys through the years, and yourself not too long ago, I'm sure I can manage one more time." Blaise stifled a laugh, and the mediwitch smiled widely at him.

"That's different, I wasn't aware of it! I didn't even know that and I certainly liked it better like that, thank you very much! No I, err, will try to sleep."

"What if it is Mr Zabini who helps you out then?"

_What? That was a surprise. She would let me help him after knowing we were kissing?_  Harry seemed to think the same thing.

"Well?" Pomfrey asked again. "I... well if Blaise is okay with that, yes."

_And an another surprise. How did I end up sharing a shower with him, after picking him up like a zombie?_  He nodded at Pomfrey and helped Harry into the bathroom. Pomfrey gave them both pajamas and closed the door.

"Do you need help to undress?" Harry nodded. "I'm afraid to damage the bandana. It's hard with my hand like this." Blaise took Harry's shirt off, before asking for confirmation.

"Are you really okay with me seeing you naked?" Harry shrugged off his concern. "I shower every week with the guys on the team, it's not really different." And he demonstrated this by pulling off his pants, and then his underwear.

"I suppose. I must say I am quite surprised. You have a reputation of hating and distrusting everything slytherin. Being seen naked by one is quite ... unexpected." He then started undressing himself.

"Nah, it's mostly Ron who is biased against you. Besides I would be a hypocrite if I didn't like slytherin myself. The hat wanted me there after all. But spending seven years in a dorm with Malfoy was enough to make me beg the hat for another house.

For the second time, Blaise was glad Harry couldn't see him. "You're joking!" He laughed loudly now. He started the shower and they both went under the hot water. "That's a good one. The golden boy of gryffindor, a snake in the lion's lair."

Harry grimaced. "Please don't call me that, I hate it nearly as much as the boy who lived shit." And he seemed way too much serious to lie about it.

"Yes I can see that" He finally answered softly. "How about it, I give you a massage and you forgive me?" Harry hesitated a bit but accepted.

Blaise started to massage Harry's neck, before attacking his back.

"I must say, you certainly hide a nice body. Even this year with fitting clothes, I never would have guessed you were this muscular."

"Hmmm, well that's the obvious positive point when someone starve you, you don't have any fat. And I think I naturally would be thin anyway... So you add quidditch, and all the chores I had to do all my life and here you go. I grew up a little too this summer I think, it's definitely nice not being shorter than everyone. Before even all the girls were taller."

_That is quite sad. But damn he is hot._

"I see. How are you still walking anyway? You should be dead asleep right now." Harry laughed a bit at this.

"There is no way I would sleep after that kiss you gave me. And I'm used to stay awake even when I'm exhausted." The more they talked and the more Blaise pressed his fingers against the skin, the more Harry seemed to melt. Blaise could feel all his muscles relax, and Harry started to moan a little.

"You enjoy yourself quite a bit." he couldn't contain the amusement in his voice but Harry didn't seem to perceive it. Instead he answered so honestly Blaise couldn't help thinking Harry might have been sorted Slytherin, but he had lived four years as a Gryffindor.

"It's damn fucking good it is. I don't know what's better, the kiss or the massage."

"I can see it gives you the same reaction so I guess I'm doing something right."

Harry didn't seem to understand what he was alluding to, and then he flushed quite brightly.

"Oh my god I'm sorry! I didn't even realize, I..."

"Harry." The other boy stopped instantly. "It's alright. You began... reacting quite quickly after the began touching your back and it doesn't matter. It's quite flattering actually that you are comfortable enough to get hard in front of me and to not even be aware of it."

Harry was completely mortified now. Blaise thought he had done well to ease his worry but maybe he needed more.

"Besides" He murmured, close to his ear "you're damn sexy and I didn't want this to stop" And started a kiss again. This time there was nos hesitation, Harry reacted eagerly until he stopped the kiss to catch his breath. Blaise resumed the massage and Harry let himself manipulated.

"Fine. That is all well and good but I feel myself cheated. You can see me like this and I don't even know if you have abs."

_Oh, he is so cute when he pouts like this._  "You can't see, but I can make you feel." He then stuck himself behind Harry. If he had any doubts he didn't affect him the same way, they would be gone by now. He felt himself slide a bit between Harry's buttocks, gave him a very sensual kiss in his neck, and it gave the other boy shudders.

"Well, alright. You look like you are enjoying this too. Damn, you're making me crazy. I've never been impatient to have sex before, but if this feels that good..." and he moaned again as Blaise was keeping the contact between them.

"Do you want to know Harry?" The gryffindor did not take the time to think. He murmured a little" 'yes'.

_Damn it, I shouldn't..._

"Are you sure Harry, I ... if we begin I won't be able to stop. This isn't how I wanted things to happen, but I'm not strong enough to refuse if you want it too."

Like before, Harry answered immediately. "Yes, I...I don't think I will regret it tomorrow. I just know I want to experience it right now. Blaise closed his eyes and resigned himself. He knew he wanted this badly, but it felt like he would take advantage... He looked at his companion and changed his mind.

_He wants this as badly as me, I should do it._

"All right."

Fifteen minutes later, a truly exhausted Harry Potter got out of the bathroom, followed by a dreamy Blaise Zabini. Harry barely laid down his head on the pillow that he was already sleeping.

Silently, poppy Pomfrey approached him and stated quietly.

"I won't say anything about your methods this once Mr Zabini, since it obviously worked. But I hope it was the last time. I may not hear what happens in this bathroom, but I have some monitor charms who alter me if ... things happen." She paused a bit before adding. "I truly hope you don't hurt him, he had enough pain in his life already." And she left him not expecting him to react.

For the third time, Blaise was glad Harry couldn't witness what was happening in front of him. Blaise Zabini didn't blush after all.


	6. Change

When Harry woke up, the first thing he realized was the lack of pain. Oh he was definitely sore, but it was more comparable to a hard session of quidditch than being tortured for hours and then having an unexpected night sex shower. Just thinking about it, he felt the warmth on his cheeks. It had been glorious. He could still feel this hands touching his body and... a shiver passed through all his body.

"I assume you slept well?" Blaise's voice.  
"Yes, thank you. You certainly know how to exhaust someone." He heard him laugh a bit.  
"You don't regret it then...?" Was it uncertainty?  
"Really? That was glorious! There's no way I could regret this. I've never thought sex could be this good. I just hope Poppy never discover this, or we would die in the hour." Another laugh.

"I'm afraid she already knows. And we are still alive."  
"What? How?!"  
 _It was bad. Very, very bad._

"Well, I discovered after you fell asleep that she has a certain kind of monitor charms on the bathroom. She luckily didn't heard a word, but she knows what we did."  
"Indeed." Poppy's voice was heard from behind the curtains. "And if I didn't, I certainly would know now. You are quite loud this morning Mr Potter."

_Alright, he was dead now, he was sure of it. Well dead for dead..._

"Damn. At least I can die happy now that I've experienced this. I'm ready Poppy, you can execute me." And he laid his arms wide open in a dramatic fashion. To his surprise, she laughed. Laughed at him! Was it the end of the world?

"If you are quite finished being cheeky, I have breakfast for you. I'm sure after such a bonding night, Mr Zabini will be qualified to help you eat. And we will never speak of that night again, is that understood?" Harry nodded and he heard Blaise acquiesce.

"I am glad that you don't regret it Harry. Not everyone is that lucky, and I feared the worst since it was so rushed. Maybe you can learn to know each other now." Added Poppy, softly, and then left the both of them at their breakfast a bit shocked by this declaration.

Blaise bring him a plate and some fruit, but Harry had to ask him too.

"Do YOU regret it?"  
"No." Blaise answered immediately. And his tone showed he meant it. He was becoming quite good at judging people just by the sound of their voice.

"Was it... your first time too?" Now that he could relax, Harry felt a bit curious. Blaise had seemed really confident last night.

"No... but like Pomfrey told you, mine was..." He sighed heavily. "It was in the summer between our second and third year. One of my friend's cousin took a liking to me. And he used a party to make me drink alcohol, when I thought I was drinking orange juice." Harry could feel the frustration in his voice, the story seemed a bit painful to tell. "I was becoming curious about sex, my grandfather gave me 'The Talk' a few weeks before and... with a few drinks I followed that guy in his bedroom. It was... forceful, he only thought about himself, not letting me relax, and he didn't care that he hurt me. Not even respecting the fact that I wasn't interested in bottoming. In a sense it was my first time last night. The way I wanted it anyway."

"I see... hmm thank you for being so nice to me. To be honest now that I think about it, if it had been planned, I would have been really anxious at the idea to ... err put something in there. But now that it's done I can't imagine not liking this. Is it possible you were just not relaxed enough?"

"It is exactly the problem Harry. I don't like giving up control, that's why I can't imagine myself relaxing. I'm pretty surprised that you are able to, you seem just as much of a control freak as me."

_Control freak eh? I've never heard this before but it does seem to fit me._

"I certainly am. But the way you were touching me, the tone of your voice... it was like you would not let anything bad happen to me. I usually always have to take care of myself and saving my skin, for once it felt nice having someone I felt I could trust, and I.. just let everything go. I don't know if that makes sense."

Blaise hummed. "It is actually pretty logical. I know my mother will always be here if I need her, but she always taught me to be in control of the situation. You, however had to develop this to survive. The moment you felt someone you could trust, you probably jumped on the occasion."

The way Blaise explained it made a lot of sense to Harry. And he liked that someone took the time to understand him.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Harry was ready to refuse, but after everything, if someone deserved one answer it would probably be him.

"Go on..."

"I've seen your entire body now and... I've seen the scars. It wasn't just this summer, they probably abused you for years..."

_Ah, that's it. He had a nice night but I'm not good enough. At least he wasn't cruel about it._

"Does that disgust you?" He tried to keep his voice firm but he could hear himself being a bit shaky.

"What? No!" And he laughed. Now Harry was utterly confused. "Harry, I think I proved yesterday how much you affect me, don't you think?" And his voice was so soft. He wanted so badly to believe him. He felt his eyes tearing... he certainly would not cry! He hadn't cried since he was five years old when he swore to himself he would never be this weak again!

But suddenly he felt himself being pulled between two strong arms. "Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. I only wanted to understand why you kept going back to  **them**." 'Them' being told with so much hate, it was no doubt his relatives. And for the first time Harry believed someone could accept him completely despite being such a mess. So he broke.

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey was in a foul mood. She still couldn't believe that foul woman was literally torturing students! And worst of all, Albus and Minerva knew about it and did nothing! he Ministry had their hands tied! Bah!

She shivered when thinking about last night. When she saw Harry with a hand so damaged... the depth of the cut, he probably had used the damn quill for five or six hours straight. She didn't like to think about it but a little bit more and his life could have been seriously threatened. And then what happened after... well Harry was still in the process of assimilating what he did. The previous day had been too much for him between the quill, his eyes and then his first time to completely admit to himself what he had done. He seemed happy about it but he could still change his mind, especially if the Zabini boy hurt him in the following days. The first time someone had sex was a life changing event and she feared for the boy she had grown to care a bit too much if she wanted to stay professional.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard someone crying. She focused, not recognizing the person it came from. And with dread, she deduced it came from within the curtains. Fury grew in her but then she heard a soft voice, trying to be reassuring.

"It's alright Harry, everyone needs to cry sometimes. My mother always used to tell me that only strong men allowed themselves to cry, when I missed my father. And you are certainly not weak. Not after everything that happened to you."

And she had to admit, it was true. She may have judged that boy a bit too quickly. Maybe he could be good for Harry in the end. He had lost someone too, and he seemed level headed. And she still felt herself blushing every time she thought about what they did in the shower together. Teens!

* * *

Once he was calmed, still in Blaise's arms, Harry felt actually free. Maybe Blaise was right, and that he needed to cry sometimes. Still, it was a bit embarrassing, even if they had been intimate they barely knew each other!

'Maybe that's why you allowed yourself to cry' he could swear he heard a little voice telling him.

"Hmm, I'm sorry I broke down on you like that. The last time I cried was more than ten years ago, I don't know what happened."

"Harry, it's alright. I meant everything I said you know." Again with that soft voice. Now that he thought about it, it might be this that made him feel so secure.

"To answer your initial question..."  
"Wait Harry, you don't have to answer if it's too hard." Now Blaise sounded panicked. It made Harry laughed a bit.

"Don't worry, it's not thinking about them that made me cry. When you talked about my scars it made me remember how I used to be so ashamed of them. I thought no one would find me attractive and I would end up alone. I ... was terrified to talk about it in my trial but my lawyer convinced me it would sway everyone to my side. He was right but it was strangely cathartic too. I know I said I shower with the guys on my team but... the truth is it's the first year I do. Before I was always too ashamed to show myself. The fact that I showed myself in front of you, so easily is proof that I am past it but hearing you talk about it...I guess we could call this a relapse or something.

Anyway, it's not that I liked going back. It was more I had nowhere else to go. The Weasleys are nice but I'm still a stranger, or a family friend maybe... It will never be my home." He stayed silent for a moment, not knowing if he should speak about Sirius. But after all Sirius never got judged, so living with him couldn't be punished by law. "Do you remember in our third year, Sirius Black escape?"

"Yes. Everyone thought he would come after you. They didn't catch him and yet they brought back the dementors to Azkaban, despite the fact that he came into Hogwarts. I always felt this stupid."

"Yes, but that is Fudge for you. Especially since Sirius is innocent. I've met him that year you know. Turned out he wasn't after me, but Ron's pet rat. Because he wasn't a rat but an animagus whose name is  **Peter Pettigrew**." He spat.

"I see. That makes sense. Draco always liked to say it was funny Black was innocent, but Fudge was so sure he was guilty. He used to say proudly that once he would be Lord Black he would strip him of his very own magic."

Harry smirked and it didn't escape to Blaise. "Draco will never be Lord Black. He will be surprised when he learns who is the next in line. But to resume my story, Sirius has been on the run since the end of our third year. I had sparse letters in my fourth year because he was worried with the tournament, but when I woke up this summer after my uncle and I nearly killed each other, I was actually in a very old house, belonging to the Blacks. I've lived with him all august and... it was the happiest period of my life. And even if the house itself was old and a bit rusty it still felt more home than anywhere else. I used to think Hogwarts was my home but now that I've tasted it there's no way I will return in  **that**  house. I know Dumbledore expect me to return there, and he will say I have no reason to refuse since my uncle will most likely end up in prison. But I will not stay  **there**  anymore."

Speaking it felt... different somehow. Like he just signed a contract and made a deal official. He felt warm tingling on his chest. And Blaise got up from the bed. "What's that? Harry are you ok?"

"I... my chest feels warm, but it's getting hotter..."

"Don't move I'm getting help!" He heard Blaise shout at him. He vaguely nodded and then darkness took him.

* * *

Blaise ran to the mediwitch office, not bothering to knock. She was at her desk, checking her files. She looked at him with a stern glare but he spoke first.

"There's something wrong with Harry!" He didn't checked if she followed him and got back to him. He was unconscious and the glow on his chest was more pronounced.

_Okay, I'm openly panicking now._

"Do calm yourself Mr Zabini. And explain how it happened please." She was casting diagnostic charms now so he took a deep breath and described the situation.

"I don't know... we were talking, and he was explaining that he spent half the summer with his godfather, that he finally felt he had a home, how he was happy and then he told me he would never come back to  **their**  house ever again and then a little glow appeared on his chest and..." The healer paled visibly.

_Okay. She probably knows what it is then. But it's probably not good news._

"You know what it is." Not a question. But she still nodded. "What helped you in what I said?"

She pinched her lips. Damn it, he would not lose him now, he needed to know! "Tell me! Can't you do something?"

"When you told me he declared he would not go back in that dreadful house. I know there is intent based wards there." And she stared at him intensely. And everything clicked on his mind.

"Are you telling me these wards were tied up to his very own magic?! Is that a magic recoil?! Who is so foolish to tie up wards to a child who has not even completed his magical development?"

"Don't look at me like this Mr Zabini. I knew the existence of intent based wards, NOT that they were tied to him! And I think you know perfectly who is responsible. But I fear this is not the only problem. The magic... is not integrating his body properly. It should go all over is body, slowly getting familiar with it, but instead it's focusing into his chest as if fighting something. If it is what I think... I will kill that man. And sadly I can't do a thing for Harry."

"Explaining to me could be appreciated, I am seriously panicking right now."

She didn't have to, because a little shockwave coming from Harry's chest pushed the both of them. Now the magic was spreading all over his body, but it still wasn't settling. Instead it was even more chaotic.

_A block. He had a block on his magic, that's the only explanation._  He was gonna ask her confirmation but she started yelling.

"Damnit Albus! A block added to wards! Are you insane! Either of them are already risky but the both of them!"

_Well, it said everything. I never would have expected 'the stone mediwitch' to lose control. But it is deserved._  he thought. Said mediwitch was pacing furiously now.

"If only he could regain consciousness, he could just canalize his magic and slowly drain it. But intervening ourselves is too risky, it could kill him. What to do...Calm down Pop's you can find a solution. Right now the magic from the wards wants to enter the body and the magic from the block wants get out, because it has been hindered for so long, if only I could redirect them to a single objective..."

She was talking to herself, while walking in circles. He felt hope losing him but a change in the pattern stopped her rumblings. The magic seemed to regroup just in front of his lighting bolt scar. It touched it... like it was cautious. And then it penetrated the scar. Harry screamed until his voice broke. Pomfrey looked completely lost right now. After five minutes a black smoke erupted from the scar. It screamed, and Blaise thought for a moment he was asleep having a nightmare. The feeling this magic was giving was disgusting. If he had one word to describe it, it would have been evil. Then this feeling disappeared. The screaming stopped. And Harry calmed down.

Pomfrey tried to pull herself together even if she had tears on her cheeks, and cast diagnostic spell after diagnostic spell, with a trembling hand. Blaise could see the scar had bled a little, but weirdly it was now more faint. Maybe it was because whatever had stayed in it was now gone.

"He will be fine, I believe. His vitals are all good, and his magic is stable. I... don't know what happened but I think, maybe hearing me talking about a focus, his magic felt what was left of the dark magic in the scar and just... destroyed it."

He wasn't expecting this. _The magic heard her?_  "Are you saying magic is sentient?"

"It certainly is to an extent. Intent based wards are proof of it. And there is a lot of others examples. Patronus, Fienfyre, animagus are famous examples. But it's the first time I've seen magic acting like an intelligent force. It's the second time it's happening to Harry."

She looked like she wanted to continue but people barged in the infirmary. She activated what he thought were quarantine wards and left them both. Blaise in a very unexpected act of lucidity considering the situation disillusioned himself and tried to hear what he could.

"Poppy, what is going on? The wards were going crazy five minutes ago?" McGonagall asked.  
"Yes my dear, can you explain yourself? I know you have young Harry in here. How is he?" Dumbledore. Well, she may rip him a new one. Pomfrey looked more furious than ever.

"Don't 'my dear' me, Albus Dumbledore! What you felt was the conflicting result between the recoil of the wards you foolishly tied up to a child's magic still developing, and the destruction that followed of the foolish block you put to the same child! Were your intention for him to become a squib?! It's a miracle he could use magic if anything! And I'm not talking about the problems it could cause to him now! I should kill you Albus! What you did is criminal! It's already bad enough that you refuse to act on the evil that lurks in your school, but this! The little respect I still had for you is gone. Get out of here!"

_Good one! Note to myself, never anger that woman. I can understand why Harry thought she would kill us this morning._

"Poppy... you must understand I had my reasons. And it's really important I check on Harry now. It could be a disaster if what I tried to limit all these years ago happened now."

"So you admit it?" McGonagall sounded heart broken.

The old man sighed heavily. He looked way older now. "Yes, I do. But you have to understand, I feared he would be possessed if what lies in his scar had enough magic to feed and grow stronger. I could not take the risk to ask for help, for if word got out that Voldemort was still alive, we never could have peace."

"And you don't have contact abroad obviously. You were not the supreme Mugwump for many years mmmh?  
In the end you chose to potentially sacrifice a child Albus, you disgust me."

Blaise was enthralled. Pomfrey was really magnificent. But he was pulled out of this fantastic scenery by a moan. Harry was sat on his bed and hold his head. A heavy grimace showed how much pain he was in.

"Sleep... I need to sleep, please.." Blaise didn't think for a second and cast a basic sleeping charm, usually used on babies. It worked very well and in seconds Harry calmed himself. Blaise felt the wards go down, and a Poppy Pomfrey still angry with red cheeks appeared followed by McGonagall and Dumbledore who looked at him curiously.

"What happened?!" Pomfrey demanded to know.

"He woke up and was in pain. He was begging for sleep, I just used the minima spell."

She nodded slowly. "Good thinking. His brain is... the correct word would be overworking? It seems like the same process everyone has when sleeping, but much more intense." She conjured a towel and wet it, then wrapped Harry's head with it. "That's the only thing I can do for him. We need to keep his brain to a decent temperature, since I don't know how long he will stay like this."

Dumbledore then tried to approach the bed but Pomfrey stopped him. "Poppy, I need to..." But he was rudely interrupted and he looked appalled. "No! I already said I wanted you out of here. Do it before I configure the wards to forbid you entry!"

"Very well, I hope you are not condemning us to despair with your actions my dear." If it was supposed to make the healer guilty, he failed. She snorted and pushed him out. Minerva McGonagall seemed conflicted and looked pained when she put her eyes on Harry, then departed without a sound.

Only Blaise stayed, not willing to let Harry alone while Pomfrey was absent, and at this point, it felt like they were both trusting each other in order to protect him.


	7. Wonky Wonka

He woke up and opened his eyes. He was confused. Where was he? And why could he could see perfectly? It was even better than with his glasses...wait glasses? He never wore glasses!

He also remembered waking up in the same place in what seemed a long time ago. A old woman asking him how he felt, what was her name already...? Thomson. Yes, Madam Thomson the mediwitch.

She had called him Tom. It felt weird. He also remembered the ritual to improve his memory, and the pain. He thought something had gone wrong, but perhaps such a reaction was to be expected. The book was pretty thin on details, and there is always a price to pay with dark magic.

He was pulled off his thoughts by someone calling him.

"Harry!" Harry? Yes his name was Harry. Why would he think his name was Tom...?

"Hello...?" Hermione. Yes she was Hermione, he knew her, she was his friend. ... right?

"How are you? You have been unconscious for quite a while now." She looked worried. Yes she was definitely his friend. He was Harry, Harry James Potter. And Tom, Tom was Tom Marvolo Riddle and it hit him like a truck.

"What the hell..." he groaned. Everything always happened to him. But even this seemed a bit surreal.

"Harry, you look pale, are you feeling ill? Madam Pomfrey should be here soon, can you wait?" He vaguely nodded, more focused on the new memories he examined in his mind. It was disconcerting, he was now certain he was Harry Potter, but he had more memories of being Tom and then Voldemort than being Harry. How was he supposed to deal with that?!

He had never been this impatient to see Poppy. When she entered the room he shot her a look of relief and she saw it. She could see he was panicking and promptly asked Hermione to leave so she could do her job.

"Harry, do you remember what happened?" He had never seen her this concerned. That was worrying.

"I remember waking up... I still had my eyes closed because of the charm right?" She nodded. "Well this obviously worked, I can see so well!"

She gave him a small smile. "Good. But after a week, I expected the charm to have fixed properly these lenses. What happened after?"

"I was talking with Blaise after breakfast and then...we discussed the Dursleys. I remember saying I would never go back there and then my chest started burning." He paused. "That's all, I woke up here and for me it feels like yesterday."

She seemed a bit more serene now. "It was not yesterday, but a week ago. Your memories are quite correct, you fell into coma because your body probably could not accept such a threshold of pain."

She took a deep breath and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Tell me how you feel. Every difference compared to before. Your situation is unique, I must work blindly, so every small detail you remember can be important. I have already talked about it with Mr Zabini, and we have a theory but I don't want to influence you."

He saw how serious she was. He nodded and thought about it.

"Actually... I feel great. My head feels... free. I've never realized before but it's like a weight has been lifted. And... my body feels stronger? It doesn't make any sense but it gives me the impression I could get up and play a quidditch match right now. And... my magic, it feels alive." He murmured. "I never felt it before, it's beautiful. It's everywhere, like the walls are soaked in magic. And people too! Hermione had that orange aura, while yours is like the Sun!" He finally looked back at Poppy, and she had her jaw wide open.

"You can see magic...? That's... extremely rare. She straightened herself. "And until now, what you describe to me is as expected. When you were in a coma, your magic... attacked your scar. Something Evil left your head. And your magic had the unexpected effect to amplify the nutrients potions I gave you to maintain you sustained during the week probably because of the overflow you had until the magic settled properly. You seem to have grown a bit, but you mostly took mass. Before you were muscular but very skinny. Now you could be considered lean. I'm sure a certain someone will be quite happy about it."

She was still teasing him, it's been a week! He stuck his tongue out and she laughed.

"Anything else you would like to add?"

He was unsure. _Should I tell her about his memories...?_ It was freaky, but she had always been supportive... and he needed a way to deal with it. She may have a solution.

"Actually yes. I... have new memories. That are not mine." She didn't look surprised. He frowned.  _Why?_

"I expected something like this. Are they His memories?" No doubt she was talking about Tom. It didn't make any sense, how could she predict this?! His magic reacted at his anger and he felt it fussing inside of him.

"Calm down Harry. Your magic is showing, that's a new thing too I suppose... Listen to me, I didn't know exactly what would happen to you, but once the magic had destroyed the dark magic in your scar, you briefly woke up. I wasn't there, only Mr Zabini were, I was busy myself trying to stop the headmaster to approach you." And she made a face, showing him what she thought about that. "You apparently were in pain, and begging for sleep. Mr Zabini cast a simple sleeping charm usually reserved to calm babies and you fell back in a coma. I then tried to know why you would react like this. You may not know this, but while we sleep, our brain still works. We assimilate all information that we learn through the day. Your brain was acting the same, but it was way more intense. I was afraid it would damage your brain if it lasted too long so I covered your head in a wet towel to keep it cool. And you slept for a week. Your brain only stopped overworking yesterday."

Alright. It made sense, she hadn't hidden a big secret like he had feared.

"I understand. The problem is that it is extremely confusing. When I woke up I actually thought I was him. I have trouble dissociating with him, because he is so damn much older than me! I have way more memories from him than my own life..."

"Yes, I imagine it must be troubling. I am not a mind healer, but I can safely tell this. If you fear losing yourself, it can only harm you. You must be confident. Remember, Voldemort is a Dark Lord. He can't trust anyone, it is in his nature. You have friends, people who care about you. Instead of losing yourself you must use it to your advantage." She paused, and seemed to have an idea. "Harry, I am sure a man such as Voldemort knows about Occlumency. Can you confirm this?"

Now he was curious. _Where did that come from?_  He tried to look through the memories, Voldemort seemed to know what it was but he couldn't find exactly... "He knows but I can't find something more detailed. Maybe if you told me what it is I could find the memories more easily?"

"Ah. Like a library. The more details you have the easiest it is to find the book you are looking for. It makes sense. Occlumency is the art to occlude your mind. It has several benefits. Mainly to stop practitioners of Legilimency to read your mind, and keep your sense of self when someone is trying to possess you, or to use a curse like the Imperius, Compulsion charms or even if someone wants to obliviate you. It also allows you a better control of your emotions because you become more aware of them. Keeping calm in a dire situation is extremely invaluable for fighters, or in a political debate for example. Finally, it rearrange your mind. It depends of each person. Some will use the model of a very ordered library, while others will excel in a chaotic environment. Each person must find a way to help him recall at will the most important things, while confusing anyone who would enter after breaking your defenses. The masters of occlumency can recall every single moment of their lives, it basically becomes a perfect memory."

The more he listened to her, the more memories popped out in his mind. And damn that skill was useful! "Why no one is teaching this? It should be a core subject!"

She shook her head, resigned. "There were tutors before... but it is now frowned upon. Mainly because if you know how to keep your secrets, the ministry can't condemn you if they have no proof. If veritaserum is not accepted as proof, it's exclusively because of the possibility the person taking the serum is an Occlumens. And like a lot of useful subjects who are not as controllable as some higher ups would like, it has been deemed as dark magic."

He snorted. "Right, higher ups as in Albus Dumbledore right?"

She had a curious look now. "Indeed. Tell me Harry, do you feel that you... I'm not saying this to be insulting, but are you feeling smarter?"

_Eh? I wasn't expecting this._ But now that he analyzed the situation...

"Ah... Yes. It's like I finally opened my eyes, my mind is clear, no more background noise, my concentration feels better, I can deduce things without much trouble for the little I've seen... I also have lost that anger who always seemed ready to erupt since He was revived..." Then he locked his eyes with her. "I'm not smarter. I'm how I should have been if he wasn't hindering me all these years right? And the anger was not mine... it was him. Do you think I destroyed the connection with him now?"

"Oh my. You will take the school and your teachers by surprise I think." She smiled warmly. "Yes, I would bet my wand that you are correct. That is another reason why you should learn Occlumency. Now that you can think to the best of your abilities, imagine what you could do with all the knowledge at your disposition. And since you have memories when you already learned it, you can probably do it way faster than anyone."

_Yes, she is right. If that method works, not only for occlumency, but for everything, classes will quickly become useless._

"Alright. I have a last test for you." She gave him his wand. "What happened that night is that you broke down the wards around Privet Drive. And they were tied to your magic. Your magic was continuously drained, and every summer when you came back there, it would drain you even more intensely. That was another reason you were in such a pitiful state when you left that house. Your body was suffering from it, even more since you could not eat properly. Since you broke the wards and they were intent based, the magic interpreted this as you, refusing to fuel the wards. The magic then came back to you. If it was only this it should have been fine, even if it is foolish to tie someone who is not magically mature to wards...  
Instead, the magic refused to settle, it focused on your chest. That was the reason of your pain. And it was because your magic in general had a block. I don't know how much, but a large portion I would bet after hearing what you told me... The magic from the recoil wanted to reunite with you, but the block hindered the passage. Until it broke. Which made all the magic locked up inside you free and... well wild, it wanted to go out. So the two were in conflict and at this point Mr Zabini and myself were quite panicking. Then all the magic seemed to focus on your scar. It seemed hesitant, before entering decisively your scar and it basically fried up this evil magic. Then you calmed down.

However, even if you feel more powerful, and better overall, it doesn't mean your magic will respond to you accordingly. You never had to deal with all of it, and you recovered everything at once so... I would like you to show me a bit of what you can do to see if everything is fine."

Okay, that story was a bit shocking. He really wasn't lucky. He took his wand and cast a simple lumos. Instead of the usual light emerging from the wand it was an alternating little ball of light, and then a light so strong it looked like the sun.

"Alright. That was weird. I feel in control and yet it is ... unstable? I didn't feel anything wrong in me, it seemed to flow perfectly. I don't get it."

"Maybe you are not used to have this much magic at your disposal? When magicals are powerful, they generally learn to use their magic either to act like other wizards and like this they can last a lot longer in a fight. And when they decide to, they can... force the spells to be more effective."

Duh. He already knew that he was doing it since first year. "I know, I do that since maybe march of my first year?"

"Really? But you should have been so limited..." She thought about every staff meeting she had since Harry came to Hogwarts. It was true all the wand subject teachers said the same thing. He was never the first to master spells. Especially in transfiguration where he struggled. But when he did, it was always very effective and Remus in particular had been very surprised by the power of his spells when he decided to force them. And what to say about the patronus to save his godfather? She shuddered at the thought of what he would be able to do if he managed to control his magic properly.

"Maybe it's the same process you need to learn again. Even if you were already above average despite your... handicaps, you are basically on a whole other level, it's a bit like playing with a glass of water and then having to control an ocean. "

"Well that's exactly it. It's actually even worse. Before I couldn't feel my own magic. Now it feels like an ocean! Maybe you are right, before when I wanted to force a spell I just... willed it. Now maybe I have to consciously decide how much I want my spell to be strong? I don't know what I will do in class though. At least defense won't be a problem." He smirked.

"Speaking of defense, your... professor tried to see you quite often. At first I think she imagined I was hiding you and she was furious. But when I said to her I didn't know exactly what happened but you nearly died she stopped bothering me. I think she will let you alone for quite a while."

Harry smiled widely. "Poppy you are the best!" And they both laughed at this. Finally, he was dismissed. She advised him to call Sirius with his "special tool" because he apparently was becoming frantic despite the efforts of Poppy, Minerva, and even Snape.

Before leaving her office, he stopped at the door.

"Poppy?" She looked up to him. "I wanted to thank you for taking care of me. Not just what you had to do, but everything you didn't have. Keeping my secrets, allowing what happened with Blaise, giving me advice .. I know you took a risk and if someone else learned of it you could lose your job but I really needed it even if I wasn't aware of it. I grew up a lot because of it." He tried to express all the gratitude he felt without embarrassing either her or him.

"So even now, you don't regret it?" She sounded hesitant. And somewhat sad. He shook his head with a genuine smile. "I told you I think I needed it. Not the act itself but it made me realize someone could accept and want me despite being broken."

She wanted to deny and tell him he wasn't broken. But sadly she couldn't, he was broken in so many different ways, and yet he kept moving on, healing along the way, always coming up stronger.

"I heard him talking to you when you were crying you know." She said softly. "You could do much worse. He seems like a good kid. Promise me that you will at least get to know him."

He laughed. "Oh I certainly will know him better! The next time HE will be the blinded." He grinned shamelessly and left her office.

She shook her head, amused by his attitude. He certainly had changed in a short amount of time. What a cheeky brat!

* * *

Harry was walking swiftly towards the Gryffindor common room. He saw students staring at him but ignored them. His priority was Sirius. He told the password and entered. He thought he might manage to enter the dorms without being seen but it was without expecting the hawk eye from Hermione.

"Finally! So everything is fine then? You still looked weak when you woke up..."

"Hermione, let him breathe!" And besides, you can see he look good. And I mean better than before last week." Harry laughed at this. Ron was looking envious. "What did she gave you? You're not supposed to look better after being sick."

"Uh, only nutrient potions, but my magic reacted to it and amplified the effect she said. I will talk to you later, I want to call Sirius first. Seeya!"

_Nice, that was easier than I thought._

He pulled the mirror from his trunk and called 'Padfoot'. Nearly instantly, the image showed a very bad looking Sirius, with huge bags under his eyes.

"Harry!"

"Hey Sirius. Merlin you look bad. You need to sleep you know?"

Sirius barked.  _Good it means he is relaxing_ , Harry thought. "I was ready to come and break into Hogwarts once again kiddo! I know Minerva and Poppy kept telling me you were fine but... How are you looking better than before if you were sick?!" Harry smirked. "Did they actually told you what happened to me?"

"Yes, something about Umbridge being a bitch, then wards breaking and you suffering from the recoil, and a block on your magic breaking too, and in the end your magic attacking what was in your scar. And me killing Albus when I'm seeing him the next time. The bastard is avoiding Grimmauld Place for now."

Hearing Dumbledore's name, Harry felt himself stiffen. "Yeah, Dumbledore. Honestly that was the last straw. He actually considered sacrificing my magic. I don't wanna deal with him anymore. At all. But well you had the very short version and yes I look quite handsome I know." He grinned. "Short reason, the excess of magic I had because of everything that happened focused on amplifying the only thing it could act on, namely the nutrient potions Poppy was feeding me while I was sleeping for a week. In the end it ended by correcting some of the problems I had because of the Dursleys so I'm quite happy."

Sirius threw him a 'I know you're hiding something' look. "Hmmm alright. But that's not everything. You also act different."

_Time to bluff._

"Yeah, you know the thing that was in my scar was... hindering me. My head feels so good now! Honestly, it's like I can solve everything if I want to, now. You'll see I'm gonna get the best OWLs score ever. Well except Divination. Scrap that. I know Dumbledore refused I drop it, but screw the old man."

"Damn."  
 _He was impressed. Good, he probably bought it._  "You breathe confidence, that's quite a big change." Silence because Harry refused to answer this obvious bait and Sirius was waiting for him to crack. But if anything, Harry was known for being stubborn, and this didn't change lately just because he could finally think clearly. Finally, Sirius opted for another tactic.

"You know, I remember the first time your father had snogged a girl. He looked beaming, just like you, and I'm not even talking about the time where he explained what happened with Lily when..."

Arg, he had to make him stop! He refused to know details about the sex life oh his parents!

"Alright DAMN IT Padfoot!" He glared at him the most seriously he could. Then he blurted everything. "Fine, I had my first kiss." Sirius glowed, but he would not let him win like that. "I also had sex in the following hour. It was damn fucking good."

And Sirius choked. CHOKED.  _Good. Take that you curious dog!_

"Are you trying to kill me? I leave my innocent boy, and not even two month later you shag? Do you even know the contraceptive charms? Please don't tell me I will be a granddad before even being a father. I'm too young Harry!"

Harry hummed. "Don't worry, I don't think theses charms are even necessary."

Sirius blinked. "A boy?" Harry nodded. "Wow, I never would have imagined you with a guy. But whatever suits you I guess. Now, tell me anything. We have to take advantage, you will stop being able to tell me all the juicy details after the adoption!"

So Harry told him everything. Except who was the boy and the memories. For now he wanted to keep it a secret. Sirius was also nicely surprised Harry didn't need glasses anymore. He had never heard about this magical lenses, but with him being incarcerated, it was not surprising.

"I can't believe Poppy let you do all of this. She must be going soft." Sirius said.  
Harry shrugged, it was fine with him. "Now concerning your magic, I agree with Poppy, you probably have to relearn everything. So don't despair!"

"I know, it's just annoying something happened to  **me**  again." he sighed. Then Sirius had to leave to attend the first order meeting since Harry had fallen ill.

He was storing the mirror when Neville entered the dorm. "Hey Harry, nice to see you again. You feeling good?"

"Hey Neville! Yeah I'm feeling good. better than ever even. Well except for my magic, it's completely wonky." And he showed him how lumos reacted. It surprised Neville. "You know, I was the same at first. Even now it's not really as good as the others. But I'm not really powerful like you so it's surely not the same reason."

Harry paused at this. He had always assumed it was the reason Neville had problems too, but now that he could see magic... for the first time he realized Neville didn't have an aura like the others. Instead his magic was everywhere around him, and it was a lot thicker too. It was gentle, moving slowly, and seemed more condensed towards the floor.

"I'm not so sure anymore. I can see magic now and..." He bit his lip. He knew he was right but he wondered if Neville would believe him. "Honestly? I think besides me you are the one with the most raw magical power in Gryffindor."

"Uh? Are you sure? I mean I never had accidental magic as a kid and I'm not good at anything with a wand." A memory popped out from Tom's life. He never had accidental magic, instead he always had been in control.

"Accidental magic does not indicate if the child will be powerful or not. Nor the frequency it happens. Actually considering accidental magic happens when our emotions are strong and that you are always calm, and shy... I'm not surprised at all. I know you are extremely powerful Neville. But if it is like me now where I can feel the magic whirling inside me but I can't cast a decent lumos... At this point I think I could do it better wandless. Ah! Lumos!" He said with his hand in front of him. He didn't really believe it, but his magic answered him perfectly and a perfect orb of light appeared.

Neville and Harry both were shocked and stared at the orb, then Harry ended it. He tried again, and the magic reacted exactly the same way.

"Well, that at least tells me my magic works fine. That's weird. Try too Neville." His friend who was looking at him in awe was now terrified. "Go on! If I can do it without trying, there's no way you can't produce a spell like this if you try and believe in yourself." Neville still looked dubious but seemed willing to try.

"Lumos!" The spell worked flawlessly for him too. "See? Told you!"

"That's... I can't believe it. Why can't we manage it properly with our wands then?"

Harry shrugged. "Dunno, maybe our magic is too strong for wands. Want to try more complex spells?"

An hour later, they were still at it, they had discovered that charms were the most easy to do wandlessly, while transfiguration was the hardest. Offensive magic came easily for Harry, but Neville was having problems with it. When Ron, followed by Hermione entered the dormitory, both of them wanted to try but could not manage anything. For once, it wasn't Ron, but Hermione acted like a jealous prat. Harry tried to console her but it only served to frustrate her more.

"Hermione, I just don't think you have the necessary raw power to do it. I told you, you're normal, it's most likely Neville and I who are abnormally powerful." But she refused to believe him.

_Well if she doesn't want my advice, that's her problem. I have a letter to write anyway._

He wanted to meet with Blaise, but he couldn't ask him straight, just in case some Slytherin managed to read the letter, so he had to write something only Blaise could understand.

_Blaise,_

_Hello again! I hope your week was fine. As you probably know, I slept quite a lot myself, feeling a bit ill. But now I'm all better!_

_I wanted to know if you wished us to meet again. I have things to discuss with you. Maybe tonight, at the same place you found me the last time you wandered alone at night? Let's say 8PM._

_I will be waiting. Do not worry if you don't see me, I will find you._

_Now if you want to say no, remember you can't! You said it yourself, no one could resist me._

_The irresistible one!_

He left his dorms and nearly run towards the owlery.

Hedwig approached him but he couldn't. "Sorry girl, this is a secret message! But I may have to send you to Padfoot soon, he has quite a lot of mail to send I think." She hooted her agreement and returned to her perch, while he gave his letter to a common brown male from the school.

"To be delivered at the beginning the dinner. For Blaise Zabini. Can you do this for me?" The owl looked at him as if he was stupid. Harry wondered if all owls liked to act like Malfoy.

* * *

Blaise felt like dinner would never come. He had heard Harry was out of the hospital wing from a Slytherin who had run in to announce the news to everyone. He was relieved, but now he was impatient!

"Relax Blaise, you will see him soon enough, I'm sure." Daphne had been his moral support for the whole week. Between wondering if Harry would wake up uninjured, if he would wake up at all because a full week was really, really long, or if he would want to talk to him, for the first time in his life, Blaise felt insecure. He had seen the changes in Harry's body, and if he found him attractive before, he was completely addicted now. But he also wondered if he was good enough. For the umpteenth time, he voiced his concerns to his friend who knew a bit of what happened. Not a lot of details, he wanted to respect their privacy, but enough for her to understand that something happened between the two of them, and that something serious happened on the Potter boy.

"Blaise, I already told you this. If you were not in a dream fantasy and imagined everything, then he enjoyed his time with you, and he even trusted you with some personal stuff. That's quite big, considering how secretive he is don't you think?"

Yes, he grumpily admitted. If only he had his practice sword, he could exercise and put his mind on something else. It was really hard to not betraying himself and not to show any attention towards his once a time lover.

Draco had been spouting nonsense all week, how Harry was skipping classes, and no one punished him and how it was scandalous, until Pomfrey talked to dinner Wednesday, and bluntly told everyone how Harry had been seriously ill and was in a coma for four days already. Umbridge was red with frustration because she wasn't allowed to see him with her own eyes and Dumbledore looked... exactly the same.

Then Draco had changed his speech and now was saying Harry was too weak and should return to live as a muggle.

He still didn't know if he should tell Harry about this so they could prank the blonde boy and perhaps make him learn his place.

Tracey barged in the common room, looked for her friends and found them curled up together. "Come on lover birds, I'm angry!" Daphne rolled her eyes but Blaise was already up. "Yes, let's go."

They arrived in the great hall, Blaise tried to look discretely if Harry was already eating. He was, and they gazed at each other. Harry smiled faintly and winked at him very quickly before returning to his meal. Blaise felt warmth growing inside him.

"Did I dream or your boyfriend winked at you?" Daphne asked in a murmur. He glared at her and she laughed.

They began eating, and some owls arrived. He didn't pay attention, the only mail he received was either his mother or his grandfather and their Owl, iris wasn't in sight.

"Blaise." Tracey called him. "You have mail, that little one is waiting." He looked up, and saw a common brown owl waiting to give him a letter, with only a 'B' on the envelope.

He opened it, curious, and his smile grew when he finished it. He exchanged a knowing smile with Daphne, who looked happy for him.

_What a sneaky one. And he even made it sure no one would understand if the letter was intercepted._  Which happened just as he thought about it. Draco had sneaked out behind him and read behind his shoulder.

"Hey, you have a secret lover now? Is that why you were so nervous the last days? Worried she would not want you?" He teased. Blaise didn't react and burnt his letter then resumed his meal. But Tracey was in the mood to be provocative.

"At least, he managed to get someone Draco. We all know who you want to put your hands on." His cheeks reddened.

And she thought about Harry, but everyone else except Blaise and Daphne thought she talked about the Greengrass seat. And Pansy, who was obvious as ever.

"Don't be stupid Davis. He already managed to get me, didn't he?" Daphne couldn't stop herself giggling, hearing this.

"Pansy, he didn't get you. You got him. And he never liked it. Nor you." And she left like a Queen.

_This is why I love you so much Daphne, so snarky._

* * *

He managed to leave the common room quite sneakily, but he knew Draco would try to follow him. The disillusionment charm was becoming more and more handy. He approached the defense classroom, and just like Harry warned him... no one was there. He startled when he felt someone touch his hand.

"Come near the next abandoned classroom." he heard a disembodied voice. He followed and when he closed the door he saw Harry sat on the desk, with a big smile.

"Sorry about scaring you. Malfoy was nearby."

"Yeah, he intercepted my letter at dinner. He is trying to follow me." Harry nodded. "Can you put a locking and silencing charm then?"

_Oh? that was weird. Harry isn't the type to make other people do things for him._

"Can't you?" He asked, while casting. Harry grimaced a bit, and shook his head. "My magic is... weird. I feel better than ever, and my magic is overflowing, answering me at will. But when it gets to cast spells with a wand... I actually discovered I am pretty good at wandless magic. Which doesn't make any sense since it's harder for me with a wand now. With Neville, I theorized than maybe my magic was too strong for it."

_Hmm, doubt it. Otherwise guys like Dumbledore and Voldemort would have trouble too._

"By the way, your magic is beautiful. Most people have just an aura around their body, but yours is all wild, yet not chaotic." He seemed enthralled. That was a surprise.

_Mage sight? Not a family trait but pretty rare too._

He smiled at harry. They were really complementary. Harry could see the magic, and he could feel it. They made quite the pair.

"Mage sight uh? I can feel magic myself, and if you find MY magic beautiful, let me tell you, yours is like a drug to me." His heart was beating faster now. Silence took place while they were observing each other. Then Harry sighed, not knowing how to act.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should hug you, or kiss you, or if we should just talk about our situation..."

_Well, I don't know either. But I know what I would like..._

"What do you want then?" He observed Harry biting his lip, and couldn't stop himself thinking how cute he looked doing this.

"Right now I just want to kiss you." Blaise didn't wait for him to change his mind and he acted on it. It was different from a week ago, more primal. Blaise had waited for a week, worried, anxious and he needed to relieve all that tension. They moved without thinking and Blaise slammed him against the wall. For a moment he feared he had hurt Harry but he felt arms around his neck and Harry kissed him even more vehemently.

_I guess he missed it just as much as me._

Finally they had to breathe, so they separated reluctantly. "I've missed this so much." Blaise stated.

Harry had a weak smile. "I can imagine, for me it's just been a day, but if I had to wait for a week..."

"We need to decide what we are going to do now." Blaise said. "Do you... want a proper relationship?" Harry nodded without thinking. "Do we go public?" This time Harry wasn't sure.  
"Is it wise? I'm a target, either by Voldemort, or by the ministry right now. Hell, even Dumbledore is suspect nowadays. And your situation would probably be bad in Slytherin if it was known. And the Gryffindor would tear me apart too I think..."

He had a point. And they barely knew each other. While it was clear they were very attracted to each other, it didn't mean being a couple would last.

"We can keep it a secret for now, I think you are right, it would put us both into complicated situations. I only told Daphne myself because I was going crazy and I had to give her a bit so she could understand. But she won't tell anything. She was a bit jealous I got you first though."

Harry had a very suspicious look. "Are you teasing me? There's no way she likes me. I mean she has a reputation that she rejected every, single, male."

"Indeed. But she has reasons to. Her family has no male heir, and apparently, the magic refuse to change the patriarchal system. So she has a lot of ... interested suitors who only want her family power. The Malfoys are the most vocal. And to be fair she never liked anyone really. But she definitely would have said yes if you had asked her out. I told you no one could say no to you!"

Harry was in denial. "There is no way that is true."

"It is! She even admitted it in front of other slytherin. We were talking about you the first day, in the train. And everyone except Pansy, but she is such a blood purist it's not surprising, thought you were handsome on the picture in the Prophet. this is when I discovered even Draco had a little crush on you." He smirked.

Harry burst out laughing. "You know, I don't know if I believe you, but somehow I can picture Malfoy crushing on me more than your friend Daphne. He certainly is obsessed with me. But if he wanted to seduce me, he certainly didn't go the right way. And while he certainly is good looking, I can't picture myself with him at all. He is too... I don't know, ordered. Never a little hair out of place. You can see disgust when he is dirty after quidditch... And everything seems calculated with him, except when he fails against me." He grinned. "I'm not like that, I want someone not afraid to live."

"I am a calculating person too you know." He raised an eyebrow. It could be the first problem between the two. But Harry shot down his doubt. "Yeah, but you can follow your heart too. Can't tell me the moment you found me on the floor covered in blood, you told yourself 'Nice, that's what I was waiting for, I will bring him to the hospital wing, exploit that he is weak, seduce him, fuck him good on the shower and then use his fame for world domination.'" He rolled his eyes. and Blaise had a little smile.

_The more I know him the more I'm surprised by how decisive he speaks sometimes._

"Besides, I don't think someone can fool his body that much. I can tell you are honest."

"Were you always so lucid? I don't want to imply that I considered stupid, but you were never the analyzing type to me." He inquired.

"Nope, that's actually new. When I woke up this morning, I felt...completely free. I can think clearly, it's as if before I was walking in the dark and now the sun is set. Poppy said the dark magic lingering in my scar held me back before. So I'm more, not smarter but lucid I guess, I'm more powerful, but I can't cast for shit. I don't know if I won in the end but if I can find a solution..."

"You will. I have no doubt about it. There's no way you can be good at wandless magic if your magic was damaged. The problem has to do with how it's converting your magic with your wand, but I don't know what could cause the problem."

"Yeah.. and usually Hermione would raid the library to find something but she was frustrated she couldn't do wandless magic at all, and she is anxious about OWLs exams. And that's not Ron who will help."

_Ah yes, Weasleys..._

"Can i ask you a question that might make you angry?" Harry raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

"I understand the Weasley boy is your friend, and you seem to enjoy the twins company too. But why did you stay exclusively with them? Except Granger obviously but she is a muggleborn, it's not related to the point I want to make."

"Why would that be bad? They are good people."

"Harry... you are aware of the status of your family? Tell me you are."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yes, since this summer. I try to keep showing myself ignorant because Dumbledore was trying to keep me in the dark. We think with Sirius it's because he wants to stay the Potter proxy as long as he can but we are afraid there might be more."

_Ah, it make sense._  "So you are not aware that the Weasleys are... well there's no easy way to tell, blood traitors?" Harry's face darkened. "What the hell is that? I know Malfoy said it more than once, I always thought it was because they were against Voldemort and Dumbledore's supporters.

_Oooh delicate subject, I did right going easy on him._

"It's more complicated. Weasleys... they were an Ancient and Noble house before, original members of the Thirty even. There's less than half of these now. The others are families who took the seat when only a female was left, just like Daphne may merge the Greengrass family with someone.

Some generations ago... The Lord Weasley of the time was ambitious. He wanted to grow his family fortune and he invested heavily. But he made a mistake, and signed a magical contract who ruined him. The main benefactor was the Malfoy family. That's why Weasleys hate them so much and Draco is taking great pleasure taunting your friend Ron every time he can. The Weasley Lord then, instead of staying proud and begin anew, tried to sell his family seat. The others Lords learned of this. They put him on a magical trial. It's a ritual who is said to invoke the will of Magic itself to judge. His magic left him as a punishment, and his sons lost their family magic. They were labelled as blood traitors, because being a member of the Wizengamot is considered a duty, not a given. The ring was confirmed to be back at Gringotts, and in theory, they could try to claim the Lordship, but since their family magic did not come back, no Weasley ever dared.

Their reputation is better now, because they strived to regain their reputation, and to stay honorable despite the shame. But It's ... complicated with the last generations because they are slowly letting the traditions getting lost just to be closer to the muggles. Dumbledore's influence I assume but I can't be sure."

"All right, I can understand the story and why they are called traitors, I guess it makes sense even if I find this a bit hard since it was a long time ago. I also know the magical world is tending to accept more and more muggle things and that some families don't like that, but I don't see the problem. Muggles do have some good ideas."

"That's not it." Blaise said. "It's not the muggle ideas families don't like. It's the discontinuation of all our traditions. All the original way of life. The Old Religion is frowned upon in Britain now, it's... Look at Halloween. It's a muggle mockery of us. Yet it's celebrated at Hogwarts, while we are forbidden to do the Samhain ritual, when we are supposed to honor the dead." Blaise shook his head sadly.

"I've heard about it, but I thought it was considered... taboo? I remember hearing a conversation in the common room when someone told it was a way to contact the dead and it was unnatural. I have to say I don't know anything about it. I always regretted this sort of thing wasn't taught." He was now frowning, clearly dissatisfied.

_Good, he is not brainwashed like I was afraid._  Thought Blaise, relieved.

"It's not calling the dead, it's... you could say you summon the essence of the people you knew who parted? You have a feeling to be close to them, as if their magic was washing over you. It's a ritual to show you still remember them and you honor their memory. In exchange magic ... rewards you, I suppose?"

Now he could see the sparks of interest in these beautiful green eyes. He had chosen well to give him an introduction of the Old Ways.

"And why is it so discouraged now? It doesn't make any sense."

"Ah well, the usual. Dark magic stuff. Mostly, it is scared muggleborns who thought it was an evil thing to do, because it contradicts their own religion."

"How is that dark magic?!" Harry exclaimed. "It doesn't hurt anyone!"

_Here we are, the crux of the problem._

"Ah. But that's the thing. In Britain, the definition of Dark magic has been... warped. Lot of people think of dark magic as evil magic. When it's mostly Black magic who should be called like this. And there is very few magic evil. And even then it is somewhat subjective depending on what we are talking about. Some people consider killing as evil. Even if you are defending yourself, or someone else. Or granting mercy. Imagine you just fought someone, you are dying, but it will take hours before life is leaving you, and you are in a lot of pain. Now, two people find you. You beg them to grant you death, because the pain is unbearable. One will stab you in the heart to make it quick. The other will refuse, afraid it will corrupt him. But depending on the point of view, you could consider the one refusing to kill to be the evil one, because it is extremely cruel to let a man suffer so much."

He had never seen Harry so focused in more than four years. Granted he didn't have all his classes with him, and he didn't pay that much attention to him at first. But it was still a good indication.

"Now, the real definition of dark magic is a bit different. The dark arts refer to every magic who necessitate a sacrifice."

"What? If you think like this, potions is a form of dark magic, since you 'sacrifice' ingredients."

Blaise smirked. "Indeed, and they are. What we learn in defense, well when it's not taught by a toad anyway, is dark magic. When you cast a hex, a curse, even some jinxes, you sacrifice your emotion, even if it's a minor jinx you still want to hinder the person you aim to. If you just make the movement and tell the words, nothing happens. Hell, even the Patronus spell is dark magic, even if they try to lure everyone by calling it a charm, because you have to give the magic the happy feeling. It's actually one of the hardest form of dark magic, because you have to feed the spell continuously. In comparison, Charms and Transfiguration only alters what you aim for. There is no need for emotion, only intent, or visualization in the case of Transfiguration."

Harry looked doubtful at this. "Are you sure? When I struggle in Transfiguration, it's usually when I'm so frustrated I become angry that I manage what I want."

Blaise snorted and tried not to laugh. "Harry, from what I know of you, it is probably only because you are stubborn enough for ten people. Yes you may get angry but it only helps focusing you even more because that's the kind of person you are. You don't need anger once you have mastered the spell, right?"

"Alright you do have a point." Harry admitted, showing his hands in the sign of defeat. "Anyway, it shows even more how stupid all of this is. I suppose I can understand how they can manage to ban blood magic, but not curses, because they can't rip people of the ability to defend themselves. Still, this is really stupid."

_Yes. But that's Magical Britain's second name._  thought Blaise with an inner sigh.


	8. Attack

After their talk, November became way easier for Blaise. They were communicating by anonymous owls between each other, even if it wasn't practical. Harry had also showed him a room on the seventh floor, which was quite miraculous. He didn't know how he had found it, but he called it 'The Room of Requirement', and it was quite fitting with all the possibilities. They met nearly every night after diner, despite Harry telling him his friends were becoming more and more curious and 'demanded' to know where he left.

Blaise had told Harry how he struggled in defense, and with such a poor teacher how he feared he would fail. Harry had proposed to help him, and it was infuriating to see him execute the spells without a wand when he had so much problems  _with_  a wand himself. But he had to admit, Harry knew his subject, and managed to describe how each spell felt when you knew how to cast it. Blaise began to make progress, and while he trained against dummies, or practiced swordsmanship - the room could provide him practice swords! - Harry generally sat, meditating.

It was an exercise Pomfrey asked him to, Harry had explained, who might help him fix his magic. When Blaise had asked if he would learn Occlumency after, Harry was surprised and actually told him he was actually practicing Occlumency, and that he was progressing quickly.

Blaise hoped it would help because sadly, he badly needed it. Harry was utterly hopeless in Transfiguration, and even if McGonagall had been warned, she still had hope, before giving up after the first lesson.

Charms, however was quite different. Harry who, everyone knew, had mastered the summoning charm last year when he had summoned his firebolt in front of everyone, was either not summoning anything, or he was summoning so strongly he would have hurt himself if it wasn't for his seeker reflexes. He had tried 'Aguamenti' in the room of Requirement too, and it was lucky it wasn't a classroom, considering the huge quantity of water Harry had produced.

Draco and his gang took great pleasure teasing him, but Harry showed a surprising good control, and decided he would be patient and avenge himself only once he would have control of his magic. Surprisingly, Umbridge seemed...afraid to even talk to Harry right now. Maybe after Pomfrey announced Harry had nearly died, she realized she had gone too far, and she was lucky to still be here and not in Azkaban.

The more they talked, the more he realized how natural it felt to talk to Harry. They had decided to take it slow, after Blaise said he was concerned their relationship would end up on sex only. Harry had reluctantly agreed, and Blaise tried to give him the most physical contact he could knowing Harry had been starved off it all his life, but the necessity to stay hidden made things difficult. And Harry teased him without any rest, in the hope to make him yield especially since like he loved saying, 'He still had to discover him' and that he 'would be the one blind the next time'. It had led to quite a hot kissing sessions.

* * *

Harry was losing patience. He focused a lot of his time to the memories of Tom, after having learnt to go through his memories at will. He had thought at first that browsing through more than fifty years of memories would take years. But he was already halfway, even if he didn't analyze completely everything. He left the daily routine that everyone lives and stored these memories quickly. He was still a complete novice in the others aspect of Occlumency, but he wanted to find quickly a solution for his wand problem. Searching through anything he could find, he had discovered that amazing room where Tom had spent quite a lot of time in his later years, being too afraid to go back to the Chamber of Secrets. And to train, it was quite better than the Chamber anyway. The simple fact that you could summon a copy of each book stored in the library, restricted section included, made it worth it. It also gave him a good hideout to meet with Blaise. He still wanted to go back to the Chamber though, he had seen a very intriguing portrait at the bottom of the Basilisk nest. He had also panicked for a moment. He remembered Dumbledore telling him he had obtained Parseltongue because of Voldemort, did he still have the ability? After a while, he thought that yes, since he still could understand it in Tom's memories. He had quickly checked the following night, just before joining Blaise, and managed to open the entrance and scared Myrtle at the same time.

The room was great to hide from Ron and Hermione too, but mostly Hermione. She was way too damn annoying recently. Demanding he explained how to do wandless magic again. Demanding he worked harder on his school work since he had missed too much for her taste. Demanding to know who sent him these anonymous letters, and why it made him smile like hat. Demanding where he went so often after dinner.

_Argh, I will need to clear things with her, it can't wait any longer or I will go crazy._

In comparison, ignoring Malfoy's teasing was easy. He now realized how often he had been influenced by whatever had been in his head.

Sadly, all these memories, while extremely informative, to the point he barely paid attention in some classes now because he knew he could learn a lot faster by his personal way, didn't help with casting properly with a damn wand. Wandless magic was all and well, and certainly flashy enough to show off in front of Malfoy to shut him up for awhile, and a good way not to be defenseless, but it still wasn't as good as a properly cast spell. It lacked too much. Either he powered his spells, and they lacked precision, or the reverse. If they worked at all, like he discovered in Transfiguration. McGonagall's disappointed look was still in his mind.

He was focusing on the feeling Tom had felt the first time he had used his wand, compared to all the wandless magic he had used in the orphanage, and while climbing the stairs attempted another 'lumos' which failed once again.

"Damn it!" He didn't have time to bask in his anger though because he bumped into someone, and lost his wand and his books on the ground. He said a quick 'Sorry!' before looking at Neville, surrounded by books too. He muttered 'Accio wand' and got up catching his wand swiftly.

"Sorry Nev, I wasn't looking in front of me. You okay?" He grimaced. Seeing the boy nodding he let the frustration coming back. "I'm still not doing any progress with my wand, I'm going crazy! Look at that! Lumos! See? Not a bit of prog..." But then he was looking at a perfectly cast lumos, albeit weaker than he was used to before.

"What the... how? Nox! Lumos!" He said again, pouring more power this time. Once again the spell worked, and the light was stronger. He could feel the magic going fluidly in the wand even if he felt a resistance. But his wand had stopped acting like it refused to work with him. "Why is it working now? I don't get it.."

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Neville humming.

"Harry... That's my wand actually." Harry blinked, then looked at the wand. Neville was right, it was definitively not his Holly wand.

"Well, that's weird. Why would your wand work... decently and not my own?" He took back the holly wand and tried again the lumos spell. And frowned at the result. "Nope, still the same." He paused. He then remembered his wand had a particular brother.

_Could it be...?_

"Neville, I think I know why my wand doesn't work anymore. But it doesn't explain why yours doesn't. Ollivander is supposed to give you a wand that works, I remember spending an eternity before he said that one was good. Wands chose the wizard or something if I remember correctly."

Neville looked a bit hesitant. "It's, uh... it's my father's wand actually. My grandmother gave it to me so I could honor him."

Harry was abashed. "But that's it then! That's why we can't cast properly! We're not tuned with them! I can't believe I didn't think of this before, it was so obvious!"

Neville didn't say anything. Harry would bet he never had heard this story about wands choosing theirs masters. "Try this Nev." He handed him his holly wand.

Neville hesitated a bit, and then, "Lumos!" a big ball of light exploded in the room.

"Ugh Neville, reduce the power!" Slowly the light diminished and Neville was looking at a perfectly normal sized lumos with awe.

"It feels so easy.." He said with a dreamy smile. Meanwhile Harry was deep in thoughts. Quickly he arrived at a conclusion.

"Alright, here is my theory. Your father's wand is blocking you, that's why you have trouble casting at all. I guess you are not compatible at all with it. Mine probably gave you resistance, but since you're so used to pour everything to make your father's working, you have the feeling it works normally. As for my case..." He bit his lip. He wanted to tell Neville, he already trusted him about his inheritance, and trusting Ron, and even worse Hermione lately, seemed like a bad idea, he was sure they would tell Dumbledore right away, and he wanted nothing to do with him.

"Neville, I know I can trust you but this is even more delicate than the Potter seat. It's related with  **him** , but... if you want to know I can explain."

Neville thought about it and finally declared that he wanted to know, and that a second opinion could help. Harry agreed and got his mirror to call Sirius as well. Neville already knew, Harry had told him a few days before.

"Padfoot!" The mirror showed soon enough a curious Sirius Black. "Hey kiddo! What can I do for you?"

"Hi! Hmm first, Sirius, this is Neville, Neville, this is Sirius Black. I told him about you in the beginning of the week." Neville waved his hand shyly while Sirius had a huge smile. "Frank and Alice's kid right? I heard you're a good friend, Harry talks a lot about you."

"Sirius!" Harry was blushing. "I didn't call you so you could gossip!" He breathed to forget the embarrassment.

"Right. Wait, before, Are you alone? This is a sensitive subject." Sirius nodded. "So, just by mistake I found out why my wand's not working anymore. I accidentally used Neville's wand, and it's working just fine! Albeit it resists me a little, but it doesn't go all wonky. And by talking with Neville, who also had problems with his casting, I learnt it was actually his father's wand. When he tried mine it worked damn well too. It was just so obvious we didn't think about it!"

Sirius was frowning a bit. "I can understand why Neville had problems, but why you? There was no owner before..."

"Ah, but that's the thing." He said with a knowing smile. "My magic was so repressed, between the wards, the block, and probably fighting Voldemort's magic in my scar, this wand" -He pointed at the holly one- "Reacted to  **His**  magic, I think. It's used to react to a mix of both of us. And it makes sense because Ollivander told me our wands were actually brothers. So... right now, the wand is probably conflicted, since my magic has changed so much, and that's why it's erratic. It doesn't know if it should work or not."

"You had You-know-Who's magic inside you?!" Neville was horrified. Harry grimaced.

_Yeah, good job Harry, that was a good way to give him the news._

"Errm yeah, that's why I was in a coma for a week, I somehow expelled it from me because of ... random events, but it wasn't pain free. Anyway, Sirius. I think I can wait until I go back it's only two weeks away, and maybe we could go for a trip to Ollivander in the Christmas break? I don't want to ask for a trip right now, it would go to Dumbledore's ears for sure."

Sirius nodded, deep in thoughts. "Maybe I could ask Dora to bring you, going to Gringotts is alright for me since goblins don't deal with wizard's justice, but Ollivander..."

"Sure, she's family I'm okay with that. Ugh, I remember spending an eternity the first time, I can't say I'm impatient to go again." He sighed. He turned to Neville. "Alright, you should keep mine, like that you can defend yourself if something happens. It's useless for me anyway. Just, could you lend me yours in class until the holidays?"

"Don't you want to keep it on yourself outside class too?" Neville asked genuinely.

"No way, it's your father's, even if you can't use it, it's precious right? I wish I knew where my parents's were... Just give me back the holly one once you have yours okay? I'm still attached to it."

The conversation ended, and Harry had learnt his father's wand had apparently been destroyed fighting Voldemort. His mother's was stored in the family vault. Harry was quite happy to have at least one of them. Harry later on recounted what happened to Poppy, and she agreed with his theory, and told him she was happy nothing was wrong with him in the end.

When he told Blaise that night, the conversation quickly continued about wandlore in general. Harry found this fascinating, and Blaise knew a bit about it. He actually didn't get his own at Ollivander but in Egypt. His mother thought he didn't have enough variety and Blaise had a Sphinx's hair tail as a core.

"You know, why no one uses two wands at once? I know some wizards fight with a wand and a dagger, or a sword on the other hand for example. So why not two wands?"

Blaise thought about it for a while. "That's a good question... I suppose the main reason is, would you be able to cast properly with your left hand right now? Sure it seems strong in theory, but it's a lot of work to be able to learn on your weak hand. Then, even if someone was ambidextrous, or had practiced in case their strong wand was injured, you would have to train your mind to cast simultaneously. And I'm not even sure if the magic can fuel two hands at once..."

Blaise then saw the expression on Harry's face. "I shouldn't have told you I think it's impossible, right?"

Harry laughed at this. "Sorry, it's just, if I could master this, it would be huge! And are you not curious?! It's decided, I want two wands."

Blaise hid his eyes with his hand and sighed heavily. "Well, you will have a problem then. It's actually illegal to buy two wands, you need a special authorization. Generally aurors, or people with responsibilities in the ministry. Actually now that I think about it, you might not even get to buy a new one since your first is not broken."

"What? But why?" Harry was shocked.

_At this rate, I will have to talk to Dumbledore anyway, or maybe I could ask Fudge, I could say he owes me a favor after that stupid trial..._

"Well, it's another attempt to control better the masses. If you have only one wand, and they want to make sure you didn't do anything illegal, they just have to check the spells on this one. If anyone could buy multiples wands, it would make it harder for the DMLE." Harry didn't like that, but he was forced to admit that for once, the law had some logic.

* * *

December was quite nice for Harry. First, he had finally told Hermione what he thought about her attitude. He had been a bit rude, and she wasn't talking to him at the moment, but at least she had stopped harassing him. Ron, and it was a surprise, had agreed with him. Then in the privacy of theirs dorms, he had actually confessed he suspected Harry to date someone and understood why he wanted to keep it a secret to everyone.

Then, there was the pleasure to do well in class again. Neville and he were now sitting next to each other in every class of Charms and Transfiguration, and his friend passed him discretely his father's wand at the beginning of each class. Flitwick had been pleased to see Harry working well again and even more to see Neville succeed as well. When Harry had managed an exercise in Transfiguration, and him being the first to manage it, McGonagall had been ecstatic, and stayed with him all the period, checking if he could do everything they had covered since the year started. Harry had been surprised how easy Transfiguration felt to him now. The fact that he could focus properly seemed to make a big difference, and even with a wand not properly tuned to him, he still found it easy. Hermione was fuming, she tried to ask him how he suddenly was so good after being useless for a month. He had ignored her, he was waiting for an apology first.

His new friendship with Neville was getting really well. He had asked Blaise if he could fill him, and Blaise only asked him if he thought Neville could keep a secret. Neville had been extremely comprehensive, and even told him he had his suspicions about him liking boys, saying he looked a bit too much at Cedric last year at the ball. Harry tried to tell him he was looking at Cho instead, but with hindsight...maybe he had looked at both of them.

* * *

He was heading towards the 'Room', saw the door already there and opened it. He was curious, Blaise had sent him a message earlier, saying he had a proposition.

He barely set a foot in the room and was attacked by a wild kissing Zabini. He laughed and tried to look reproachful but couldn't quite get it. "Come on, it's not that I don't like it, but you could let me close the door properly before assaulting me! You're lucky I check every time if someone follows me."

Blaise gave him a cheeky grin and they both sat on a very comfortable couch, curled up together.

"So, what's that 'proposition'?" He asked.

"Curious?" Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, tell me or I will punish you. One day without any kiss for every minute I wait."

Blaise stared at him. Pinched his lips. "You cruel, heartless man. Fine. I would like to invite you in my home for the Yule break. My mother agreed to it, I received her letter this morning."

_Wow, I wasn't expecting this._ Harry thought. _Wait, her mother knows?!_  He felt the panic building up.

"Hmmm, does your mother know we are together then? Or are you inviting me as a friend?" Blaise gave him such a smile, he felt himself feeling a bit better. Blaise probably had seen him stiffen, because he gently kissed him and passed his hand through his hair.

Then, he answered with that soft voice Harry loved so much. "Of course she knows Harry. She was actually the one encouraging me to give you a chance when I said your magic was pulling me in, but I thought you would never talk to me since I was a slytherin."

Harry felt himself relax under the gentle touch in his hair, and the words of reassurance.

_Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. It is probably like meeting Mrs Weasley or Mrs Granger..._

And then he remembered his plans with Sirius. "I, uh, actually have plans already... You remember when I told you Draco would be surprised by the next in line for the Black Lordship?"

Blaise nodded slowly. "Sirius is going to adopt me. Not legally, but magically. Which make it legal too but it's not by the administrative form." He sighed. "I'm ranting, you know that better than me I think. We will do the blood adoption ritual. So the main line will have an official heir and Draco is fucked. Sirius told me it could take me a few days to recover so we planned it for the very first day of the break. I have to check with Gringotts after that for the Potter and Black heirs rings, and see if everything is fine, Dumbledore is my magical guardian and I don't trust him one bit now, I hope he didn't mess up my family situation."

Blaise was humming, and took out a piece of parchment.

"Holidays start Saturday 15th. You do the ritual this day you said?" Harry nodded. "Right. We have to get on the train on the 4th of January. I suppose you want to spend time with your father...?" He hesitated a bit. Harry smiled, it was something that made him feel queasy too.

"I don't think I will ever call him that. It's a bit too late I suppose. Sirius is fine to me."

"Very well. But I was right? You will spend time with him?" Harry nodded. "What about this, you stay with him, celebrate Yule with him, and you could come with me on the 24th? This way you could spend roughly half the time with him, and half with my family."

Harry found this very tempting. On the other hand, he was going to be adopted, it should be logical that Sirius agreed to this, he couldn't act like he was adult already...

"How would I came to your home?"

"My mother proposed to send you a portkey, you would just have to hold onto it and say the password."

_Yes, that could work. Alright, time to inform Sirius I guess..._

He took out the mirror out of his bag and looked straight in Blaise's eyes. "I'm gonna call Sirius. I have to ask him and, well I'm gonna introduce you I guess."

He felt the sweat on his hands.  _Why am I so anxious?!_  But he really wanted to see where Blaise lived, and spending time with him without the pressure of the school...

"Padfoot!" The mirror stayed normal for quite a bit but Sirius finally emerged.

"Hello Harry! Are you alright you are a bit pale. And who is this?" Then a mischievous smile appeared on him. "Is this who I think it is?" He asked with a knowing tone.

"Yes that's him. Sirius, this is Blaise Zabini. Blaise, my godfather, Sirius Black the terrific mass murderer. Be warned." Sirius laughed loudly and Blaise looked amused.

"So, this is the one who took my godson's innocence?" Sirius blurt out, raising an eyebrow. Blaise and Harry looked equally horrified and it made Sirius laugh even more.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, while Blaise- "You told him that?!" looked reproachful.

"I had to! He knew something was going on just looking at me. And when I tried to change the subject he threatened to give details about my parents! Personal, intimate and very-unfit-for-me-to-know details! So I did the best I could, I gave him the entire truth and he was so not expecting it, his face made it worth it."

Blaise snorted. "Seeing how smug you look, I suppose i can understand. But you asking if my mother knows we are dating is a bit hypocrite when you told him this kind of detail, don't you think?"

Harry glared at him before admitting that Blaise had a point.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure boys?" Sirius asked still grinning like a madman.

"Blaise... asked me to pass a bit of time with him during the break. I told him about our plans but he proposed I arrived on the 24th. We could celebrate Yule instead of Christmas...? His mother would send me a portkey before we leave Hogwarts and she would bring us both to the train station I suppose?" Blaise nodded.

"Hmmm, you know I have nothing against you kid, but your mother has quite a reputation." Blaise grimaced hearing this. Harry had never heard about this, and Blaise always described this mother with affection.

"It's... deserved I suppose. It has to do with our family. I can't really say much more. Just that every one of these men deserved it, except for my father. I can promise you Harry will be in no danger coming from us."

Sirius was looking extremely serious right now, and stared intensely at his boyfriend. Harry was feeling the tension radiating from Blaise, and he wondered where all of this came from.

"Harry, I agree to this and in the end it is your choice. I want to trust him, he makes you happy I can see it, but I have two conditions. First you have to call me everyday. Second, I would like a portkey myself, and I will come with him the first day. Celebrating Yule is fine with me, I was raised celebrating it after all. Only did Christmas two years I think, because of Lily." He remembered. Then he looked at Blaise again. "So, what do you think?"

"That should be feasible. There is actually another reason for you to come Harry, I have found a solution to your wand problem. Loopholes are quite handy sometimes." He smirked.

"Not a Slytherin for nothing I see." Sirius commented wryly.

"Thank you!" He smiled in return. "I've read the law about possessing wands quite a bit, and there is nothing against OWNING multiples wands." Comprehension appeared in Sirius's eyes.

"Yes, it's because families keep the wands of the deceased. They couldn't declare this illegal. People would protest too much. So you propose to buy his wand abroad then. It would work, as long as Ollivander attests he never sold another one to Harry if he is asked, and Harry will be fine." Sirius nodded approvingly. "It's well thought."

Blaise smirked while looking at Harry. "Wands actually. Harry has decided he wants to learn how to fight with two wands simultaneously."

Sirius looked at Harry with a blank face, then dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "It's Harry, I'm not surprised he is crazy. He is not a full Black yet but he has his own form of madness. I'm sure he will work it out somehow." He laughed at Blaise dubious face. "Hello kid, full Patronus at thirteen? Triwizard winner at fourteen with a little duel against a Dark Lord as bonus? And I've heard a little story about a giant Basilisk I wasn't aware recently?" He raised an eyebrow. Harry ignored him the best he could.

Blaise on the other hand looked resigned. "Maybe you are right. He does do crazy things. I guess I will have to stop this trend, I want to keep him alive after all. I don't like to part way with what's mine."

Sirius howled at this, and even teared up after seeing Harry blushing really hard.

"Yours uh? You are awfully distant for someone who claims that." He muttered. Blaise hit his arm, and gave him a 'we're not alone look' and he realized what he suggested. Luckily for them, Sirius hadn't heard any of it and was still recovering from his wild laugh.

"So, who are you going to take him? Gregorovitch maybe?"

"No, he is the grandson of Shikoba Wolfe, an American wandmaker. She is quite famous there. His name his Talako Wolfe. He has learnt everything he could from his grandmother and then started traveling. He is the complete opposite of someone like Ollivander, who is trying to perfect his art by making the most refined wands, and for this has reduced the pool of cores he uses to three. It's admitted that Ollivander's wand are the best if you find a perfect match. Ollivander is a wood speaker, it's an incredible advantage to have this magical gift for crafting wands. However since he is so famous, he became the only one in Britain. A lot of people end up with a wand imperfectly tuned with their magic. Wolfe on the contrary is willing to try literally everything. He actually requests either magical wood parts, or potential wand cores as a part of his payment. It limits the number of clients he has but it leaves him time to experiment. So in the end his wands are maybe a bit less perfected but you are way more likely to end up with a perfect match.

It's also why he never stays long in the same place. When I got my wand his shop was situated in Spain. Now he is in Egypt. He has enough reputation that it doesn't matter to him. Him being in Egypt is why it will be easy for us since this is the country where my mother's family is coming from."

Blaise finished his speech, and he was surprised not to have been interrupted for so long. He knew Harry was interested in wandcrafting, Sirius was obviously the same.

"So," Harry finally said- "I have to find something as a payment then. Maybe I should ask Hagrid... There is quite a lot of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts after all."

"It's a good idea, and you still have a week, it should be enough... Uh Oh. Harry, look at the time."

_Shit. 11PM._

"We have to go, Bye Sirius!" He closed the mirror without waiting for an answer and took his cloak.

"So that's why you always manage to sneak out on me. It seems quite different than regular invisibility cloaks... an heirloom maybe?" He said, with reverence. Harry paused, he didn't know anything about invisibility cloaks in general. How could he know if it was an heirloom?

"Uuuh I have no idea. I know my father used it when he was at Hogwarts too, and Sirius called it 'The Potter cloak' so... I guess?"

"Normal cloaks only last for two or three decades maximum, then they become regular cloaks, the effect stops. So yes, probably heirloom. Good night Harry."

* * *

Harry was heading towards Hagrid's hut, and was secretly blessing magic. He had left straight after his last class, with a little detour in the kitchen to grab diner for two persons, and now was giving in the wonders of warming charms. It was really cold, but despite his thin cloak he felt quite nice outside.

Hagrid had given him rendezvous for 6pm, after he had told him the day before he was looking for potential magical wand parts because he had taken an interest lately in wandcrafting, which was true, he said to himself. He liked Hagrid, despite the blind loyalty to Dumbledore, and he refused to lie to him. Omitting details however, he could live with that.

"Heya 'Arry!" A voice called him.

"Hi! How was your day Hagrid?"

"Fine 'Arry, classes were nice today, not one Slytherin/Gryffindor, so like holidays really!" He joked. "So, you interested in wands heh? What are you lookin' for exactly?"

Harry had discussed this with Blaise, who had told him the forest had quite a variety of trees. Blaise had explained trees growing in a magical forest had a high probability to be magical.

"Well, different kind of woods mainly. And maybe parts of animals? I know you have a herd of unicorns, so perhaps some of the hair they leave behind?"

"Ooh, yah I have quite a lot of that. And thestrals's too. Hipogriff feathers also, dunno if you'd like them. Hmmm let's see what else..."

They were now in the forest, and Harry wondered what trees would give magical wood. He opted to look for what appeared the oldest ones, supposing they may be more impregnated with magic the older they were.

He found a pale one with an enormous trunk. He saw a branch nearly fallen, and asked Hagrid because he didn't know how to cut it without damaging the tree.

A few meters away, he saw another one with the wood looking like ivory and they repeated the process.

"Hagrid, you are still friends with Aragog right? Do you have any acromentula venom?"

"Ofcourse! Aragog's kids sometimes try to hunt into the centaurs territory. They have no chance against these arrows, poor babies." Hagrid lamented.

Harry managed not to laugh, he knew Hagrid for a long time now, and he wasn't surprised by his love of horrific creatures, but it was still funny.

"Maybe you could give me some? I don't need a lot, I think." Harry was curious to see what the wandmaker would think of this. Blaise never heard about venom used in wand core either, and Harry planned to go in the Chamber to take a basilisk fang too. He was sure it would make a nice bargain tool.

"It is no trouble 'Arry. Here, look at this one, it's blackthorn wood, I know because it was what my old wand used." Another branch was taken, and then Hagrid told him he had a particular tree to show him.

"Tis the oldest tree in the forest, I heard the centaurs say once. They take great care of it so we will just check if it is damaged somewhere alright?"

Harry was beginning to worry, they were pretty deep in the forest. Then Hagrid stopped in front of a gigantic tree, who had a beautiful hue. It was a deep red, somewhat it looked like the tree had a fire inside his trunk.

"Wow, I can understand why they like that tree so much, I can actually see the magic coming off from the trunk." He approached and caressed it. Suddenly, he heard a cracking noise and a branch fell next to him. He was in the process of wondering if the tree was somehow sentient when he heard a hard voice shouting.

"Hagrid! What do you think you are doing to a sacred tree?!"

Harry startled and saw three centaurs and recognized them in particular Firenze, who had helped him back in his first year. He took the branch on the ground and approached them slowly.

"Harry Potter. What brings you so deep in this forest? It is a dangerous place for one so young."

He decided quickly than honesty should be the way to go. He remembered the first one, Bane, and how he didn't seem to like humans.

"I... am meeting a wandmaker in the coming weeks. I have been told he is looking for diverse magical parts. I asked Hagrid to bring me to the forest so I could look for magical wood. Hagrid helped me chose branches where it would not injure the trees." He showed the three first ones he had collected. "Then Hagrid told me he wanted to show me a tree. That it was the oldest in the forest, and that we could look and only take one branch if it was damaged."

The centaurs showed no emotions for now. Even Bane listened, probably waiting to decide if he would kill him or not.

"When we arrived, I was enthralled by how beautiful it was. It's so much more alive than any other tree in the forest from what I've seen. The magic is leaking from it... I don't know if I did anything when I touched it, I don't think so, but this branch fell just next to me. And the cut is... unnaturally clean. Is it possible the tree is somehow sentient?"

_All right. I am still alive. It is positive!_

Bane was still looking at him expressionless. Ronan was deep in thought, looking at the old tree. Firenze... was looking at the stars and looking like he was in trance. Then Ronan spoke.

"I think the child may be right my friends. It has been a long time since one of the Elders gave a sign..."

_The Elders?_

"You can't be serious! Why would an Elder gave a sign to a human?!" Bane retorted with disbelief.

"He will probably be important for the forest in the future I suppose..." He turned back to look at Firenze, who got out of his torpor and seemed disturbed.

"Did you see something Firenze?"

Said centaur nodded, and looked at Harry.

"The forest is dying...Come back when you are ready young one, Death is part of the cycle but the Forest should live, it is not yet its time. We will wait for you to return."

And then he left. Ronan followed him without a word but Bane was looking at them, and Harry in succession, hesitant. Finally, he growled.

"Leave these woods. You have been here long enough."

Hagrid for once, didn't play the tough guy and they left quickly. On the return, Harry saw a carcass of something familiar.  
"Hagrid, is that a blast ended skrewt?"  
Hagrid choked a bit. "Aye, t'was the last one too. He died a few days ago, he refused to eat ..."

_Mmmh, they were highly venomous I think, maybe..._

"What will you do with the body?" he asked.  
"Well, thestrals ate all the others. They will probably eat this one too."  
"Do you think you could get me the tail? It's a new specie, maybe it could work in a wand.."

Hagrid had suddenly life in his yes. "You think so? Oh it would be so nice, it's like he would live again!"

_Oookay. Hagrid is really weird sometimes._

Thirty minutes later, they both left the forest. Harry was in possession of quite a heavy bag, and he was happy to have brought boxes. He had two highly venomous parts, and would be in a possession of a third tomorrow. He put his cloak on him since it was after curfew after thanking and saying good bye to Hagrid, and headed back to the common room.

He was yawning when he got assaulted by a very angry Hermione.

"Harry!" She hissed. "Where the hell were you?!"  
He raised an eyebrow. "So, you are talking to me again? How nice of you."  
"Stop being childish! Mr Weasley was attacked, they all left an hour ago to headquarters, the headmaster was looking for you to leave with them."  
"What do you mean attacked? Is he alright?!"

She pinched her lips. "I don't know, they didn't give me any details. You didn't answer me Harry, where were you? You can't wander alone like that after curfew. I should take off points!"

_Points, really? What a disaster! Mr Weasley may be dead and she wants to take off points!_

"Then do. I'm going to call Sirius." And stormed out of the common room, rushed towards his trunk, took out the mirror and called "Padfoot!"

The mirror instantly showed Sirius who looked murderous.

"Finally! Where were you?! I was worried sick! Arthur is in St Mungo's, he was bitten by a some venomous snake..."

Harry blinked. He had told Sirius where he would be tonight and that he would most likely be late, but he supposed worrying over Arthur had somehow extended to him.

"Sirius, I was with Hagrid, I told you yesterday, relax I'm perfectly fine. Is Mr Weasley going to be alright?" Sirius regained a few colors but Harry saw sadness in his eyes.

"We don't know, the venom is unknown, Voldemort probably modified his snake to make it unique, for now they are fighting to keep him alive. But Snape already took venom from the wound and is working on the antidote."

Harry felt a bit relieved, at least he was still alive, and Snape despite being a terrible teacher, was a genius with his work. He felt a bit better knowing someone like him worked on a solution.

"Dora and Remus will wait for you at the station Harry. Now that it's only you it should be enough. Dumbledore was quite mad not to find you, he will probably summon you tomorrow."

Harry shrugged, it didn't matter to him. "I still don't have the portkeys so I would have refused to come anyway. And I need to go in the Chamber to harvest a basilisk fang too."

"I don't like you going back there alone, but I suppose there is no danger anymore... Try to sleep Harry. I will see you in three days."


	9. Adoption

He was feeling all his years nowadays. Tom had regained his body only six month ago, and already he felt as if the war had started again for years. Even with a body sustained with the elixir of life, wondering if the world you have been working for nearly a century would be destroyed in a couple of years was taking a toll on him. The stone... stopped him from aging. It didn't make him young again. He had known that, seeing as Nicolas and Perenelle were rather decrepit, and already were when he had himself been a young man but it was still frustrating that someone as powerful and intelligent as him could not enhance the elixir. And he did not dare ask Severus for help.

He felt a pang of guilt at the memory of his old friends. They were gone now, without the stone to sustain them. They had agreed it would be the most ideal solution to destroy the stone when he had... wondered out loud if it would be best. That they were ready to go on their next adventure. They had trusted him to destroy it... and he never could persuade himself to do it. He needed it, for the world to change in the correct way, and he could not die yet. And he didn't need the financial help of Order members anymore. Which was good since the Longbottoms and the McKinnons were gone, the Potters nearly ruined, and Sirius wanted nothing to do with the Blacks. It was already nice to have that house, despite it being...resisting their efforts to clean it. Even Sirius had started recovering the priceless books and heirlooms Molly wanted to throw away and he refused to let them access the Black blood restricted section.

At least, with Arthur attacked yesterday, it confirmed the interest Tom had to obtain the complete prophecy. He had begun to doubt himself since Tom was never usually this patient. And Arthur would survive, he trusted Severus. So in the end, the plan to make the orders members to "guard" the entrance had been successful. He knew he was right now, and had not lost anyone.

Sadly, it seemed to be the only thing working as intended lately. Since that damned trial, things were more difficult, in all fronts.

He sighed and took a lemon candy to calm himself.

The Prophet who enjoyed attacking Harry, and allowed him to retain his popularity somewhat unscathed, despite his war with Cornelius, had made a complete turnover. Harry had been the 'Boy Left Alone', 'The Boy we have Failed'! The press enjoyed itself far too much for his liking. Cornelius reaped the benefits, even when he had been played by that Tonks man! He and Harry had played the Wizengamot beautifully, he had to admit. And even within the Order, people questioned him now. Alastor in particular was becoming troublesome. He probably would take the boy's side if he had to chose between himself and Harry. It had been a severe miscalculation to let the Dursleys run free so much. They had played their part perfectly for thirteen years, only to blow it up at the worst possible moment.

And Harry... yes, Harry was his biggest worry now. If it was still Harry that is. What a mess. The boy was a mystery this year. He had expected that Sirius would make him a bit more carefree, to allow him one more reason to fight for this world, and to die when he had to. He also hoped Sirius would make him even more reckless. Instead... they certainly had bonded, but they both became more cautious. Sirius openly said he didn't trust him anymore, and Harry... he didn't know.

He didn't dare approach him in case Tom was looking through his eyes. He had observed the boy ignoring the looks of pity when he returned to school. Observed him fight his anger and frustration to Umbridge. And when Harry had fallen into coma he had feared the worst. Was Tom taking over? Or the horcrux maybe? And Harry recovering his complete abilities was only adding problem to this! He could not allow a second Dark Lord to emerge. But at the same time he needed Harry to face his destiny.

So many possibilities... and he was completely in the dark right now. If the horcrux had taken over Harry, did the Prophecy still applied? Would Tom-Harry face Voldemort? It was possible, it wasn't in Tom's nature to share power.

He thought again at the wand's problem the boy suffered for about a month. When Harry had bought his wand, the wand had probably reacted to Tom as well. And Harry's magic was so repressed, it may have reacted more to Tom than to Harry, which would explain the problems Harry had for a month. The magic was mostly Harry's. But if the soul shard had slowly worked to take over, the magic in its entirety should feel like Tom to the wand now, and would explain why he could use it again, and become a 'genius' so suddenly, like Minerva had said.

There was also the possibility that Harry was effectively rid of the horcrux, but so much magic being free at the same time would need a focus or it explode completely. The infirmary was still intact, so Poppy had to direct it somewhere. He didn't know where and it may have been to the horcrux even if he doubted it. But it didn't explain why Harry was working out his wand again  **if he had**  destroyed the horcrux..

No, Harry being possessed, either partially or completely was the most likely situation. Him being so openly distant with his true friends, and approaching young Neville, a member of an influential family screamed Tom and the building of a political alliance. If Tom-Harry somehow managed to build an alliance, like Voldemort had done on the other side of the war, it could be disastrous. He would have to observe this.

Harry also made great use of his cloak this year. He disappeared for long period of time, and nobody could track him. It irked him so much. The map of his father probably helped him a lot too. What terrible tools at the disposition of someone so potentially dangerous... He had hesitated to confiscate them, but it's most likely the boy would have straight up refused and hid them in the chamber of secrets where he could not access. And where he suspected Harry went so much. He had placed an alarm if the entrance in the bathroom was opened, and it had been triggered once recently, which confirmed somewhat his suspicions. Harry probably had found an other entrance to go in undetected.

So, he had taken a risk. He needed to know, or to at least assess the danger. He had summoned the boy after breakfast, and he was waiting for him.  
Soon, the ward on the gargoyle alerted him of someone coming up, he prepared himself and said "Come in." while putting up his best gentle face.

"Good morning Harry, come in. Tea? Sherbet lemon maybe?"

"No, thank you sir, I just ate." The boy answered.

"Very well. I won't take long I know you still have classes. I would like to know where you were yesterday night my boy. Surely you know Arthur has been injured now. I tried to wait for you, but I could not do it for long, I had to respect the Weasley children in that situation."

Harry looked at him curiously. "I'm not sure I understand professor. Even if I was present when you announced the attack, it would not have changed anything."

"Harry, I wanted to send you to headquarters with them. The Order can't afford to wait for you deciding to show yourself when we need you immediately. You have put me in a most difficult situation."

There, he would see if the boy felt guilt or not. He knew Harry would be embarrassed at hearing such disappointment.

"Oh. Yes Hermione told me, but I was with Hagrid actually, I came back a little later than I planned but it's not like I was hiding. And I'm sorry professor, but I would have refused yesterday. I still have things to do. Surely you can make me a portkey just like you did when you sent Ron and the others?"

_Refuse?_  He blinked.  _That is weird, it is unlike Harry, but Tom would never be so blunt..._

"Ah, Harry, portkeys are regulated you see. I only did it yesterday because it was an emergency. Besides, are you not worried for Arthur?"

"Of course I am sir! But I'm not family so it's not really fair if I get to leave school before the end of term. And I told you, I have things left to do before leaving."

He saw a bit of annoyance in Harry's eyes.

_Interesting. So he consider these 'things' more important than his family..._

"Nonsense Harry. You know Molly and Arthur consider you their son. I'm sure Arthur will be disappointed not to see you when he wakes up." And he gave him a sad look.

The boy shrugged.  _So he doesn't really care. Hmmm, worrying._

"And what are these things you are talking about my boy? Can I help you?"

He was wondering if he should probe his thoughts. But if Tom had really taken over, he would know, and he could not afford the mistake of allowing him to know he suspected about the possession. Harry wasn't aware about his seat of the Wizengamot, but Tom would be. And he needed the political power for now. When the war would resume to open warfare like he was sure it would in a year or two, political power would become less vital.

"I'm sorry but that's personal. I'm sure you remember what you were at my age, we don't like to talk about these things."  
"I'm not sure I understand Harry. "  
"Oh come on professor, I'm sure you dated at some point in your life?" He asked with a shy smile.

Albus nearly choked.  _That is a surprise. Well played, I don't believe it but it is indeed a good excuse._

"Very well. I will leave you to return to your class. Enjoy your Christmas break Harry."

Harry nodded but for a moment he was sure he had seen... something in his eyes when he said Christmas. Then he remembered the Dursleys, and the orphanage and that was the only thing that made sense.

_It would annoy either Tom or Harry. Not your best choice of partings words Albus._  He lectured himself.

* * *

The return by train was so far uneventful. He was sitting with Neville, Luna, who was becoming closer to Neville recently, and Hermione. She had told him the day before she was coming to Grimmauld Place too, so in a show of good will he had said he would be civil to her but only to respect the Weasleys. She was withdrawn lately, and probably had good reasons to. Her life was full of people showing her she wasn't as smart as she liked to believe.

Harry had been conflicted during these last two days. On one hand, he was impatient to go back to Grimmauld Place, to see Sirius and the adoption! And then he would go to fucking Egypt and wasn't that glorious? And he would finally have a wand, hopefully two that felt natural again for him.

On the other hand...That meant nearly ten days without Blaise before, and thinking about it made his heart hurt.

That would also means spending his time with all the Weasley family, who hopefully would be in a decent mood if Arthur got better. And the ritual... as much as he was excited, he was also afraid. Knowing his luck something would go wrong. And he dreaded his trip at Gringotts, he feared so much what he would find there Sirius had to reassure him, and told him that he would get all the Black inheritance anyway. Not that money was what worried Harry, it was more knowing for sure that Dumbledore had interfered.

Malfoy had tried to pay them their usual visit but Harry had closed the door wandlessly and even wordlessly. It was the first time he showed non verbal spell in front of others, he had done it without thinking, but Hermione despite dying to ask had said nothing.

They had left the train, to be quickly apparated by Nymphadora and Remus, and they were now pushed on the house.

"Hey kiddo! Hello Hermione, how was the train?" Sirius greeted them.

"It was fine, usual Malfoy being the clown he is but that's it." Harry answered.

"Yes, and Harry doing non verbal magic. Without a wand. The usual." Hermione added, a bit briskly, and he rolled his eyes.

_Ah. It was too hard for her to not mention it I suppose._

"Yes well, it's Harry, he's mad you know, the usual." Sirius teased. "Hermione, I will let you go to the kitchen alone, your friends are there. I need to speak to Harry if you please." Hermione looked at them suspiciously, but nodded and left.

"Come Harry, I will show you a room reserved to family members."

_Ooh, I didn't know this house had one except the library._

"Where is it located?"

"Well, it's actually the whole fifth floor. As you know, the fourth floor was dedicated to the main family bedrooms, that's where I had my room, and you have yours, which was Regulus's before. The master suite is warded to open to the Lord only, that's why we can't even see the entrance right now, there is just no Lord."

They climbed an impressive number of stairs and when passing half the stairs towards the fifth flood, Harry felt magic washing over him, touching him, and then it stepped back.

"If you wanted another proof that you're a Black... If you didn't you would have been unconscious by now. It's not dangerous, it just give you a mental shock until the owner of the house can see who tried to enter.

Now come. The ritual needs a lot of blood. I've already stored mine, but I will need yours too."

Now, that made him interested. Tom was very knowledgeable about rituals, and he knew the theory and the potion behind it. And it didn't need the blood of the future child, only that of the parent the child needed to absorb.

Sirius passed him a ritual knife, and a vial. "It needs to be filled. I would like you to do at least half of it. Maybe all of it if you feel up to it. Like I told you before, the ritual can be exhausting for the child, so if you already are tired because of blood loss..."

Yes, it made sense.

"Now, you have been reading about runes for a while. You should know that there is no right translation, nor meaning for one rune." Harry nodded. "Yes, they are tools, they help direct the magic, kind of like a wand we use to be more precise when we cast. It's all in the visualization really. You could create your own runes and if you were precise enough it would work. That's what Goblins do, and why Gringotts is so secure, we just don't know how they protect themselves."

Sirius was speechless. His jaw wide open.  _Oops, It was maybe a bit too much._   _People generally don't realize that you could draw whatever sign as long as you know what they mean for yourself._

"Well, I'm impressed, you certainly did your homework. Honestly, it takes people years to understand how runes really work usually. You probably should ask McGonagall to try your OWL, you could perhaps manage it." Sirius mused.

Harry had a little smirk. "Oh Sirius, that was already my intention. I expect an easy 'O'. Runes come to mean naturally it feels, the only disadvantage I have is learning all the meanings but I'm not worried about this. Will you explain the ritual to me then? We have time while I'm bleeding myself out."

"All right, but tell me if you feel it's enough. So...here the big part, I wrote everything to you on a parchment. The Black family actually did a lot of adoptions in the past, mainly on minor lines, when they found orphans. They were not always about that blood purity bullshit, which surprised me a lot. I actually feel quite proud of my ancestors, it seems it's mostly the last two generations who went crazy.

Anyway, they found out that using a basic ritual was really painful for the child to accept the changes in the body and magic. At one point, they modified the ritual to integrate Celtic runes, in addition to the classic futhark. Before, it was a one step ritual with three based runes, and the parents would fuel magic into the child to trigger the potion.

Now, the Celtic Runes are way more tuned to nature, since they are named after trees. One of my ancestor decided to change the ritual into a three steps ritual, with three sets of anchors. Two runes circles, and three family members acting as a human circle. It is said that the child will still be exhausted, but the pain was minimal. The only problem of this ritual is that the child must be old enough to manipulate roughly his magic to pour it into the blood of the rune, and then to trigger the potion inside him at the end. The first part of the ritual and the last one are always the same whoever is the child, but the Celtic runes are different depending on the child. That's part of the reason we couldn't do it this summer, I had to work on it, since it is supposed to be me who pick them, not you."

Harry was opening his mouth to asks details when the door opened, and Nymphadora barge in.

"Heya. Not dead yet Harry? Woah, he must fill this entirely?! Glad it's not me." Her hair took a sickly green color.

"Shut it! So you will be there tomorrow I take it?"

"Yep, I bring mom and dad too. Dad can't take part in the ritual, but he is curious and he liked you so he wanted to celebrate a new family member." She smiled at him.

"Do you still want to be reinstated as rightful members?" He was curious about this. He didn't know if he would forgive the family that had shunned them out, in her place.

"Yep. It's not like the new Lord will be an asshole right?" She teased him. "You are a half blood too, to be honest Mom and me, we are quite excited to be part of this. And family reunions will be so fun with the Malfoys!"

_Eeew. It nearly make me regret it thinking about these family meetings. At least I will be in a position of power..._

"That's enough Harry, you can stop. Can you heal him Nymmie please?"

"Sure! You alright there? No dizziness?"

"What do you think?" Harry groaned. "So Sirius, can i see the detailed version please?"

"Yes, here." He passed the paper and Harry began reading it.

[Ritual - details](https://www.casimages.com/i/190313084508405838.jpg.html)

"So that's why you want my blood. Making the crushed wood soaking in it is supposed to create a connection and that is what should ease the pain. I found this strange, I get it for the potion, it needs my blood as base so that the potion can differentiate what's from me, and you, so I can get only what would... better me?" Sirius nodded. "Yes, for example if you hadn't corrected your eyes, you probably would get my perfect vision."

But then he paused. "Shit, will you lenses pose problem? If your eyes ARE corrected, and you have the lenses on top of that..."

_Oh, that's a good point._

"Nah don't worry. They adapt to the need of the person. And even if something goes wrong, Mom's a healer, she can take them off, so it's all good." Their cousin intervened.

"That is good to know. Do you have other questions?"

"Did you really bought phoenix feathers to ignite the second circle? It must have cost a fortune!"

"Hey, calm down. When I was thinking about what combustible I should use, Fawkes actually appeared in front of me. and gave me three damn feathers. I asked him if I should use them for the ritual and he chirped and I took this as a 'yes'."

Harry was bewildered. In the meantime, he had often wondered if the Phoenix was loyal to Dumbledore or the school. And Tom's memories had added to that. It seems Fawkes had been seen in the company of Armando Dippet before, and some other headmasters too. He wasn't always there, mostly when the school was potentially in danger. But knowing about the ritual... were phoenixes able to see in the future? Or did Magic guided him?

"That's... good I guess." Then he yawned quite a lot.

"Okay, that's it we're done for today. We're doing this at ten tomorrow morning. You can't eat breakfast, and you will have to be perfectly clean. I also prepared underwear for you since it's the only thing you will be able to have on you. And they must be non magical, so I took no risk. Are you ready to come down? You need to eat."

Harry was a bit anxious at the idea of seeing all the Weasleys. He entered timidly the kitchen and he found them talking like usual and eating around the table. They greeted him before Molly Weasley went all motherly on him.

"Hello Harry dear. You look a bit pale, are you well?"

"Yes Mrs Weasley, I just need to eat and a good night of sleep don't worry. I hope Mr Weasley is better?" And he really did. Arthur was one of the few adults who didn't feel like a hypocrite to him.

"Yes, he is stable now. But they have problems with the venom, it stops them to close the wound." She pinched her lips, trying not to show her concern.

"Well, I've heard professor Snape is working on the antidote, I'm sure it's a matter of days now." Harry said with a definitive tone.

"Pfuah! What's stopping him to let Dad die huh? I don't trust him one bit!"

"Ron, Snape might not be the nicest person to be around and he is a shitty teacher" "Harry!"-Hermione couldn't help herself- "But if one thing is sure, he is a genius at potions. If anything, just trust in the fact that he won't let his pride let him fail, even if it's voldy's snake."

No one expected Harry to give this kind of answer and they stared at him like he was a stranger.

"I guess you might have a point." Ron grumbled finally.

"So, what did Sirius need to talk about that couldn't wait?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione... he told you to leave us alone for a reason you know. What make you think I would tell you now?" He was amused. He could tell she was insanely curious, and she hated secrets. "It's a Black Family matter Hermione, it has nothing to do with you."

"What could the Black Family have anything to do with you dear? There's nothing good with that wretched family." Molly Weasley intervened.

"My, Thank you Molly, I feel appreciated." Sirius teased. Then to Harry. "Nymmie just left, she will be back tomorrow morning. She is quite thankful you let her participate."

"Participate?" Ginny talked for the first time since he came in the kitchen.

"Yes, she is a Black too after all, even if currently disowned through her mother." Sirius explained.

"What's the need for secrecy? You're not doing something illegal I hope?" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"No Molly, Nymmie is an auror, remember?"

"Then why not tell us?" She insisted. "I'm not sure Albus would agree to whatever you intend to make Harry .."  
"Albus has no say over my house, nor Harry." Sirius cut her sharply.

"Very well. Harry, we are going to see Arthur tomorrow after lunch, are you coming?"

_Uh oh._  He didn't know if he would feel up to. He glanced at Sirius asking for help.

"Actually, we have something planned tomorrow morning. It depends on how Harry will feel after this."

"I'm sorry Mrs Weasley, but we planned this for a few weeks already, we can't reschedule." Harry tried to ease the tension.

"Fine!" And she left.

"That went well." Harry commented.

* * *

He woke up the next morning, brushed his teeth then went down to greet the Tonks family who was scheduled to arrive by portkey in ten minutes. Once again everyone was in the giant kitchen. Molly Weasley offered him breakfast, but he declined, saying he could not eat for now.

"Why not?" Hermione asked. Harry ignored her but he saw the suspicious eyes of the Weasley matriarch. However he was saved by a familiar noise and three people were suddenly in the entrance of the house.

"Wotcher Harry, are you feeling well?!" Nymphadora inquired, her usual cheery self.

"Yep. Thanks again for doing this for me Dora, Mrs Tonks." And he bowed a little.

"Dora?! No way!" Her mother had a little laugh and kissed Harry on the cheek. "Call me Andromeda, or Dromeda if you wish. it is nice to meet you Harry. Nymphadora told me a lot about you and Ted was quite impressed after the trial." Then she turned to her daughter. "And you should let him call you like that. He will be our future Lord after all. Then he could call you like he wants..."

With a knowing smile, he played along with her to tease the young auror. "Yes, after all Nymphadora is such a nice name, I heard you like it a lot..."

"Argh! Dad, can I kill them both?!"

They all laughed, but were interrupted by a shouting contest.

"You had no right, Sirius Black! This puts us all in danger!" Molly yelled.

"I have every right, this is my house! And first, they won't be able to come back once they leave because they don't know the secret. Second, don't you dare imply they would betray us! Ted is a muggleborn for Merlin's sake!"

"Albus will hear about this!" "I don't care Molly! I made it clear to Albus that I would not obey him like a puppy!"

Andromeda murmured in his ear that he should go take his shower while the shouting contest kept going.

Ten minutes later he emerged from his bathroom, and found the black boxer Sirius had prepared for the ritual. He then entered the ritual room, and found Sirius and the Tonks already there. He felt quite a bit embarrassed being nearly naked, but at least his body wasn't the thin and underfed one he had a few month before. He wasn't vain but he liked what he could see in the mirror now.

"Oh my, I never realized you had such a nice body Harry." Dora winked at him.

"Must. Not. let hormones control me!" Harry murmured. Probably not low enough because she obviously heard him and teased him even more. "And a very alert teen I hear. it would be such a shame if you lost control of your... man thing, right Harry?" And she morphed. Into one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Sirius laughed at this. "Sorry Nymmie, you chose the wrong type of model."

Harry glared at him. "Sirius! Can't you wait until the ritual is over and I have clothes on me before giving her ideas?!" Could she even morph into a man? Maybe not the complete anatomy but probably her face...

Sirius was grinning. "Sorry kiddo, I don't think it would work anyway, from what I've seen you are so obsessed with him, no one could take your attention away."

Harry blinked at this. "Sirius. I'm a teenager. It doesn't matter what my mind think, my body has a mind of its own." Andromeda had a musical laugh while Ted gave Sirius a 'He got you there' and finally Dora processed the information.

"Wait, Harry has a boyfriend? Why did no one tell me?" She pouted. "What does he look like?"

Sirius opened his mouth but Harry spoke before. "That is MY business. Sirius if you speak again, I will neuter you." And said man closed his mouth.

"So, is it Sirius or Harry who will be adopted? It seems Harry acts like the father to me..."

"That's mean Dromeda! I'm just enjoying teasing my godson! It's the last time I can!"

Harry began to worry when he heard that. "What do you mean? I'm not dying you know." He frowned.

"Hey relax, I was joking, I only meant this because after you won't be my godson, you will be my son." He answered softly.  
"Oh." Harry felt relief all over his body and nodded.

"Shall we begin?" Andromeda suggested.

"Right!" Sirius gave him three bowls with Holly, Apple and Elder wood crushed like dust, a bowl with the phoenix feathers powder, and the vial of blood he filled yesterday. "You just have to follow what is drawn on the ground. You make the circle with the phoenix powder. Then you mix the blood within each of the bowls so the wood can absorb it. Then you draw the runes."

He began, the circle was quickly done, he now had to draw the runes and he focused the more he could. A little mistake could have very dangerous consequences.

Tinne with the holly wood. A vertical line and three horizontal ones.

Quert with the Apple wood. A vertical line and five horizontal ones.

Ruis with the Elder wood. A vertical line and five oblique ones.

He looked at Sirius who was nearly finished too. Drawing a full circle in blood was more time consuming, but the runes were more easy to drawn.

Opala, Kenaz and Berkana. Separation, Beginning, Rebirth and growth. It was roughly summarized but close enough. He then put seven drops of his blood by cutting his finger in the potions, and Sirius did the same with three drops.

"I think we are ready. You both know your part?" Sirius asked the two women.

Nymphadora nodded eagerly. "Of course. Harry, it is time to drink the potion."

"Wait." Harry said. "We didn't discuss this. What about my name?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What about it? You want to change it?"

"Well I don't know. I thought Blacks had a tradition to name their children after stars or constellations."

"That is true... you know what? We will discuss it later, either you can rename completely, but it will be a bit against our plan to hide the adoption. Or I can give you either a third name, but it would still be risky, or ... maybe an unofficial name? Just between the two of us?"

Yes, Harry thought, that last idea had appeal.

"I think I'd like that. Having something just between us." Sirius grinned. "Great! I already know your first one. Now, drink the potion and then go in the middle of the circle. Andromeda, Nymphadora, take your position."

The potion had a nice taste, and made him feel completely high. "If being drunk is like that i will never drink." he grumbled. The three adults chuckled and Dora gave him a 'We will talk about it again in a few years' look.

Harry looked at his soon-to-be father, who nodded. He sat, and then took a deep breath. He put a finger on the first rune, Opala, to begin the ritual. He poured his magic and the blood flared. Then the rest of the circle progressively flared, igniting the two others runes at the same time, and finally the circle closed.

Sirius soon did the same with the Tinne rune, and the second circle erupted in flames. It was not planned because Sirius looked surprised, and worried after that. The second circle made a circular wall of flame very impressive. Harry was vaguely aware of it, the potion made it hard to focus.

Andromeda forced a cough, to ask Sirius the last step of the ritual. He understood quickly enough.

"Today, we are together to bring a new child into our family. I ask the magic our family wields since so many centuries. Please accept it and let him be reborn as my son." Sirius began.

"Today, I stand as witness for the family as a matriarch of the Black family. I swear to the magic our family wields since so many centuries, this child is worthy of us, please accept him as a new son of Black." Andromeda said with solemn tone.

"Today, as a daughter of the Black family, I thank the magic our family wields since so many centuries to give him a new son, and I welcome him as a son of the Black Family."

Harry realized the voices had stopped, and that it was probably his part. His searched inside him, felt the strange feeling and asked his magic to interact. And then everything went black.

* * *

Andromeda moved slowly towards her cousin who looked ready to jump inside the flames.

"You can't interrupt it. You know that right?"

"Yes! But why did it react like this? What if it hurts him?"

"I think he is safe. Does it seems hot to you?" He glanced at the fire then shook his head. "Besides... I don't think that the fire is what you should worry. Look at his head."

Sirius quickly focused on Harry's head, and what he saw made his heart stop. The scar was flaring exactly like the runes on the ground.

"Sowilo..." He murmured. Andromeda nodded. "We should have anticipated this. It's not unusual to have carved runes in the flesh, and they are known to interact in rituals. We just didn't realize that a scar could act like one... However, that particular rune is often used to make a ritual more effective, to push the efficiency to the maximum."

She paused. "The only consequence I can imagine would be that he would change physically more than planned. With only one parent, the changes should have been nearly invisible. Now...Well let's say it's lucky you are good looking."

But it didn't calm Sirius. "It's bad, if he looks like me, Dumbledore will know. Glamours can only get you so far."

Suddenly, the flames shot down, and there were nothing left on the ground. Sirius ran to Harry, followed by Andromeda. Harry wasn't conscious so she cast diagnostic charms.

"He is physically fine. Magically exhausted, which is weird. But in the end fine. And I can tell at least one thing that changed. His hair. He lost quite a bit of the wildness Potters usually have. But only someone who will look at it will see. That new haircut probably helps, it would be more visible if he had long hair."

Harry moved a bit, and opened his eyes. His green eye and his grey eye.

Sirius held back his breath, and Harry must have sense his discomfort because he could see worry in his eyes.

"Sirius, is something wrong? I feel okay.."

"Yes, don't worry, just something not planned but we will find a solution. Can you see alright or do you need the lenses off?"

"It's... all blurred."

"Are you sure?" Andromeda asked. "If somehow it's only because of the ritual and I take them off, you will have to do the charm once again." Harry grimaced hearing this.

"I'm .. tired. Can't I sleep and we will see after? I really don't want to stay blind for so long once again." Andromeda nodded and cast a sleeping charm. Soon Harry fell asleep against a warm chest. Sirius, holding him off was resigned now that the situation had sunk.

"Maybe an item with a glamour embedded, like an enchantment..."

"Sirius!" Dora shouted at him. "You know these corrective lenses can change eye color right?" He turned his head so fast he actually hurt himself.

"Yes, but he will need to take off this one and place a new one." Andromeda retorted.

"Somehow, I think just one eye blind will be fine to him. I assume he didn't like the feeling of not seeing at all the first time." This made Sirius remember how his... son had actually become intimate with Blaise. Yes one eye should be fine. "Yes, from what he told me, one eye will be fine as long as he can see."

Sirius then took Harry into his bed. Then said good bye to the Tonks with the promise than Andromeda would be on stand by all the week-end in case Harry needed her. Luckily, the Weasley were at St Mungo's and he didn't have to answer questions. He was way too tired for a raging Molly.

* * *

Harry woke up, seeing fine. Feeling fine too, only a little bit sore. And so hungry he could eat a horse. He went to the bathroom, took a shower, felt his hair a bit weird but did not think much of it and went to brush his teeth. And then he saw it. The grey eye.

"What the hell?" He washed her mouth to clean the toothpaste, put on some clothes and rushed to knock on Sirius's room.

"Good morning son, how are? You slept quite a bit."

That made him pause a bit. "What do you mean, what time is it?"

"It is currently 9 M in the morning and we are Monday."

"Monday! I know you told me the ritual could be exhausting but I never imagined I would sleep for two days!" Harry hissed.

"Well, it wasn't planned. From what I've read, the child adopted is tired, but he doesn't need to sleep after the ritual, or on the worst cases, only a little nap. Exhaustion stays for one or two days and then it's over. But somehow, you were magically exhausted too, and that's the reason you slept so much I think. We assume it has something to do with your scar."

"The lightning bolt?" Harry frowned, then realization hit him. "Sowilo..."

"Yes. That's what we concluded too. You somehow, powered the ritual, by most likely enhancing the potion with your own magic. I suppose you saw yourself in the mirror and it's the reason you came in with that panicked look?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, and by the way, I see just fine. It was probably the fatigue that made me see all blurry."

"I see. It's good to know. Andromeda told me we could just take off the lens on your grey eye and replace it with a one changing your eye color. Of course you would have to let it closed just like the first time.

Hm. That would do it. He wouldn't panic if he could see.

"When?"

"Well it depends on you. If you feel fine, we can sneak out to visit Gringotts and ask Andromeda to come tonight or tomorrow. If you feel tired I think she can come to eat lunch with us and we will do it then. To be honest I'm nearly going crazy here, they all harassed me to no end because you wouldn't show up, and when I told them you were asleep, I just stated it was a private matter. But you know the girls..." He grimaced. "Between Molly and Hermione, I thought I would snap and actually deserve my title of mass murderer."

Harry grinned. "Welcome to my life. Hermione can be so... suffocating sometimes.  
Anyway, you will be pleased to know I feel perfectly fine. Gringotts it is! Wait, no! Eating first!"

"Very well, but first.." He flicked his wand and Harry felt his left eye warming up a bit. "There you go. It's a basic glamour. Quite easy since it's on a little surface. But will only last for some hours. That's why it's not reliable. Now, let's eat and be assaulted by your fans."

Like they imagined, breakfast was complicated. He explained to them Sirius had insisted to do a full check up on him, hence why Andromeda was here, and Nymphadora and Ted were here in case they found something bad. Sirius had looked impressed at his excuse. He also explained why he had to sleep so long by saying he had to give blood, and one of the spell checking him had to rely on his magic. At his point Sirius had a eyebrow raised so high Harry had to contain his smile.

When he left to prepare for Gringotts, Sirius stopped him quickly and with a grin murmured to his ear. "I know you asked for Gryffindor, but right now I wonder how the hat let you out of Slytherin at all, that was brilliant!"

When Harry came back with a cloak, Molly asked him where he thought he was going.

"We have a important visit, we will be back tonight." Sirius declared with his own cloak.

"You can't be serious! It's dangerous to leave the house!" She shrieked. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Nonsense. No one will know it's us." Then with a wave of his hand, Harry looked like a completely banal teen. "There. It will last until we arrive at destination. See ya!"

They opened the door and closed it hearing the cries of anger of Molly and Walburga Black.


End file.
